Sledding death was accidental, jury finds

A TEENAGE girl was killed instantly when a makeshift sleigh travelling at almost 60km/h down a steep slope collided with a tree following heavy snowfall last winter.

A day of fun in the snow turned to tragedy when Aoife Downey, 15, from The Maples, Frankfield, Douglas, Cork suffered severe head injuries when the sleigh spun out of control and hit a cluster of pine trees at Frankfield Golf Course.

Aoife’s parents, Sean and Siobhán Downey, issued an emotional tribute to their “beautiful, fun-loving, happy” daughter at an inquest into her death yesterday at Cork City Coroner’s Court.