Forensic training helps establish cause of most car crashes

GARDAÍ have claimed that they can predict the exact cause of most car crashes even when there are no witnesses, due to the expansion of forensic training within the force.

Gardaí unveiled techniques used by the Forensic Collision Investigation Unit in establishing the exact cause of what happened at the scenes of fatal road accidents at Garda headquarters in the Phoenix Park.

Senior forensic collision investigator, Sgt Colm Finn of Templemore Training College, said gardaí were able to calculate precisely what happened at the scene of most crashes, including the speed and angle of different vehicles at the time of impact.

A total of 42 garda forensic specialists are trained as collision experts, with at least one officer based in each Garda division around the country.

They have been attending the scene of all fatal accidents and collisions where victims have suffered serious injuries which could result in death since 2007.

“Fatal collisions are a crime scene and any death can be regarded as an unlawful killing until the contrary is shown,” said Sgt Finn.

Under Garda procedures, roads which are the location of a fatal accident are closed off until Garda forensic collisions investigators have carried out an examination of the scene.

Sgt Finn said all evidence collected at such scenes and presented by gardaí in court was “impartial”. “We don’t take sides. We are just trying to establishing the cause of the accident.”

The forensic expert said gardaí used marks left on the ground by tyres and other parts of a vehicle to determine the exact nature of a collision.

However, gardaí sometimes remain puzzled by what happened in fatal accidents involving a single vehicle colliding with a fixed obstacle on a straight stretch of road, although it is suspected that some incidents of this type are an act of suicide.

Evidence collected by Garda forensic experts at the scene of a road traffic accident in Co Wicklow in February 2007 was used to secure what is believed to be the first-ever conviction in Ireland for murder using a motor vehicle as a weapon.

Anthony O’Reilly, was found guilty of the murder of Daniel McDonald after he drove onto the footpath of the main street in Arklow to run down his victim.

Sgt Finn said the nature of the impact of the vehicle hitting the victim had aroused suspicions that it was not an accidental, hit-and-run type incident.

He pointed out that the speed at which a car hits a pedestrian can often be calculated from the location on the windscreen where the victim’s head makes impact.

The potentially fatal injuries caused to a pedestrian struck by a vehicle occurs when they hit the ground rather than the original contact, said Sgt Finn.

He claimed up to 85% of adults can survive being hit by a car travelling at 30-40 km/h. However, just 15% are likely to avoid a fatal injury when the speed increases to 60-70 km/h.

He claimed most accidents are caused by motorists driving at inappropriate speeds for the prevailing road conditions.