Garda chased stolen car before fatal crash

A YOUNG man and a teenage girl who sustained fatal injuries when the stolen car in which they were travelling spun out of control and struck a lamppost were involved in three other collisions and were chased at high speed by a Garda patrol car prior to the fatal incident, an inquest heard yesterday.

John Kinlan, 21, of Ballygall Parade, Finglas, and Amy Kinsella, 18, of Annesley Close, Ballybock, died of multiple injuries when the black Honda Civic in which they were travelling crashed at Dublin’s Annesley Bridge Road, Fairview, on the morning of May 20, 2006, a double-inquest at Dublin City Coroner’s Court heard.

Mr Kinlan, who was the driver of the vehicle, was pronounced dead at Beaumont Hospital that morning due to critical chest and abdomen injuries, while Ms Kinsella, a back seat passenger, died at the Mater Hospital three days later from critical head injuries.

The crash occurred when Mr Kinlan rounded a bend at high speed on the Annesley Bridge Road and collided with a Peugeot 206 before crashing into a lamppost, a parking meter and finally a lamp standard on the edge of Fairview Park.

Mr Kinlan’s sister, Maxine Kinlan and his ex-girlfriend, Teresa Farrell, were also in the car at the time.

The inquest heard that Mr Kinlan had a cocktail of drugs in his system at the time of his death, including 0.13 micrograms per mil of cocaine, as well as ecstasy, benzodiazopines and a small amount of alcohol, a toxicology screening later revealed.

The jury recorded unanimous verdicts of accidental death in the case of Ms Kinsella and of death by misadventure in the case of Mr Kinlan.

Gardaí were first notified of the erratic car at 7.20am, the inquest heard.

Garda Domnick Noonan, who was in the patrol car attached to Mountjoy Garda Station, gave chase to the Honda Civic and told the inquest he was almost rammed by the car on Griffith Avenue when he attempted to stop the driver.

The Civic then caused a crash between a truck and a Toyota Camry when it broke a red light at the end of the Malahide Road. It was then that Garda Noonan decided to call off his pursuit because he believed the situation was becoming too dangerous.

At 7.53am gardaí were alerted to another crash on Ballymun road when a red Transit van driven by a Polish man was forced to crash into a pedestrian crossing when a black Honda Civic pulled up in front of him and slammed on its brakes.

The final fatal collision occurred just minutes later at about 8am. The coroner, Dr Brian Farrell, expressed his condolences to both families on their respective tragic losses.