Claim pole caused death

THE father of a teenager who died in a car crash in Tralee has claimed his son would still be alive if a pole, which he said had originally been the barrel of an artillery gun, had not been on a footpath in the town.

An inquest in Tralee heard how Michael McErlain, 17, of Dromraymond, Manor West, Tralee, died after the car he was driving mounted a footpath and collided with the ESB pole. The accident occurred close to the Baloonagh junction, just after 6am on December 1, 2005.

Mr McErlain’s father, James, who represented himself at the inquest, said the ESB pole should not have been where it was. Describing the pole as a “killing device”, he said he had several reports from road designers supporting his claim.

Coroner Helen Lucey refused to allow Mr McErlain to continue this line of questioning, saying it was not relevant at an inquest.

A jury of nine returned a verdict that death was caused by haemorrhage and shock. Coroner Lucey, inspector Derek Smart and the jury foreman extended sympathy to the McErlain family.