Prison officer fell under oncoming lorry while jogging

A prison officer enjoying a lunchtime jog stumbled on uneven tarmac and fell under an oncoming lorry, an inquest heard.

Cork City Coroner’s court was told it was a “one-in-a-million” chance that John O’Riordan, aged 43, from Farnanes in Co Cork, tripped on the particular patch of uneven ground just as the lorry approached.

The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.

City coroner Dr Myra Cullinane was told that Mr O’Riordan was jogging along Ballyhooley Road in Ballyvolane on the northside of Cork City, at about 12.50pm on Sept 29 last when tragedy struck.

Billy Loftus, who was driving an unhitched Renault 420 semi-tractor truck, said he saw Mr O’Riordan jogging towardhim, on a graveled area to the left side of the road, and moved his truck to the right to give him room.

He said as he drove closer, Mr O’Riordan stumbled and fell into the path of his truck.

The driver saw a flash, felt a bang, and could do nothing to avoid hitting him.

He stopped immediately and was distraught.

Louise Cashman, who was driving behind Mr Loftus, said the truck was driving normally and was in a proper road position.

A keen runner herself, she said it looked as if Mr O’Riordan’s left foot slipped, causing his body to fall into the path of the oncoming truck.

“Neither the truck nor runner had a chance to avoid the accident.

“I heard the driver say repeatedly, ‘he fell out in front of me’. He seemed paralysed by it,” she said.

Mr O’Riordan suffered massive head and neck injuries due to blunt force trauma, consistent with a road traffic accident, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Garda Dermot Cahill, a forensic collision investigator, said he discovered a slight height difference of about three quarters of an inch between two levels of tarmac on the roadside where Mr O’Riordan was jogging just before the impact.

This height difference may have caused him to stumble, he said.

“I walked along it myself and I did notice that it twisted my foot. This was a one-in-a-million chance,” he said.

Garda public service vehicle inspector Stephen O’Shea said he found no pre-accident defects in the truck that would have contributed to the accident.

However, no tachograph readings have been provided to gardaí to show what speed the truck was doing at the time.

A file on the accident was sent to the DPP who decided no prosecution should take place.

Mr O’Riordan’s brother Tim, who performs with the famous Cork music group Natural Gas, thanked the gardaí and the emergency services for their assistance.

Inspector Eileen Foster offered her sympathies to Mr O’Riordan’s family on behalf of the gardaí.