Coroner wants remembrance day for road victims

A CORONER yesterday suggested that white, timber crosses be erected at the scenes of all fatal traffic accidents on All Souls Day, each year.

“Having a day set aside for this might create more awareness and help stop the tragic carnage,” coroner Terence Casey told an inquest, in Killarney, into the death of factory worker Joss O’Brien, 21, from Castlemaine, Co Kerry.

The inquest heard that Mr O’Brien’s Toyota Corolla collided with an oncoming BMW, driven by a Polish woman, Anna Piociennit, at around midnight on October 3 last.

She said she was travelling at about 50kph when Mr O’Brien’s car hit her car on her side of the road, at Gortroe, Killarney.

A front seat passenger in Ms Piociennit’s car, Marika Michaelak, recalled hearing Ms Piociennit’s saying, “look at him” as she saw a white car coming towards them on their side.

“All I know is that the white car was on the wrong side of the road,” Ms Michaelak said.

Alan O’Dowd, a front seat passenger in Mr O’Brien’s car, said they were driving around in the car, which Mr O’Brien had purchased that day or the day before.

They had left a car park where boy racers go, in Killarney, and were heading towards Killorglin. Mr O’Brien was travelling at over 70 mph going around a number of bends.

He said Mr O’Brien was hyper and that was why he was putting the boot down.

Mr O’Dowd said they were close to the centre white line as they approached a bend and a car suddenly came from the other direction.

Then, Mr O’Brien said, “oh, shit”, slammed on the brakes and crashed into the other car.

“We were not on the wrong side of the road until he slammed the brakes because the other car came out of nowhere and was near the centre white line as well,” Mr O’Dowd claimed.

A jury returned a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence that death was caused by asphyxia due to inhalation of blood, associated with multiple fractures.

Mr Paul O’Donoghue, solicitor for the O’Brien family, said the family greatly appreciated the work of the emergency services and wished to thank the gardaí for their compassion and sensitivity.

However, Mr O’Donoghue said it would have helped the family had they known earlier how their son had died.

“The family very much regretted that everybody present at the scene did not make statements,” he added.