Gardaí stage reconstruction of fatal Dublin bus crash

THE scene of last week's bus crash tragedy in Dublin was closed off for several hours yesterday as gardaí staged a reconstruction to help try and establish the cause of the accident.

Members of the garda investigation team spent several hours at the site on Wellington Quay where five people were killed on February 21.

The road and other adjoining quays were sealed off from 6am until lunchtime as accident specialists carried out several re-enactments to analyse how an out-of-service bus mounted a pavement before crashing into a group of passengers waiting in a queue to board a No 66 bus.

Identical buses to those involved in the accident were used during the reconstruction as detectives also made a video recording of the reconstructions.

Although the operation was conducted by gardaí, members of the Dublin Bus investigation team were also present.

A garda spokesperson said they wanted to obtain information on the technical aspects of the crash, including the angle at which it struck the passengers and the speed at which it might have been travelling.

Over the weekend, detectives had also interviewed three Dublin Bus drivers including the two men who were driving the vehicles at the time of the accident.

One theory being examined is that the automatic transmission failed to work or was not properly engaged by the driver. Another possibility is that the driver may have accidentally hit the accelerator pedal instead of the brakes.

However, gardaí and Dublin Bus last night declined to comment on whether the exercise had helped them to determine the exact cause of the crash.

Meanwhile, the funeral of the last of the five victims killed in the crash was buried in Maynooth, Co Kildare, on Saturday.

More than 500 mourners packed into St Mary's Church for the requiem mass of 69-year-old mother of four, Kathleen Gilton.

Ms Gilton's daughter, Nuala is still seriously recovering in hospital after her leg was amputated as a result of injuries she sustained in the accident.

At the suggestion of the company's drivers, all Dublin Bus vehicles displayed black ribbons on their wing mirror on Saturday as a mark of respect for the victims of the crash.

Dublin Bus said it remained hopeful that it would be in a position to publish its report on the accident in the second week of April.