Mother and baby injured in fatal motorbike accident

A MOTHER and her baby were in a serious condition last night following an horrific freak accident in which a motorcyclist was killed.

The young woman was walking along a footpath with her six-year-old son and pushing her 18-month- old baby in a pram when a riderless motorbike ploughed into them.

Gardaí believe the motorcyclist, Derek Delaney, fell off his bike on the Coolmine Road, west Dublin, after losing control. His bike then careered into the pedestrians at high speed.

Mr Delaney, 37, from Coolmine Park, Clonsilla, is understood to have died instantly when he struck a tree.

It emerged yesterday that Mr Delaney lived only five doors away from the mother, named locally as Maura Noonan.

Ms Noonan, 28, and her baby received serious injuries, while the boy escaped with minor injuries.

The accident occurred at 8am along the busy Coolmine Road, which connects Clonsilla Road and Carpenterstown.

Mr Delaney was thrown off his bike after he passed through a railway crossing on the Coolmine Road.

The mother did not see the approaching bike and did not have time to get her children out of danger.

A garda spokesperson said: “It would appear that the motorcyclist lost control and he came from the motorcycle and that the motorcycle continued on and collided with the woman and the children who were on the footpath.”

He said the exact circumstances were not yet clear.

“We’re satisfied the railway crossing was open at the time,” the spokesperson said.

The mother and son were taken to the nearby James Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown.

The baby was initially taken to Temple Street Children’s Hospital before being treated at Beaumont Hospital, which has a specialist head injuries unit.

The spokesperson said the baby was in a “serious condition” and that the mother was in a “serious but stable condition”.