Man, 86, collided with truck after he hit accelerator instead of breaks at junction, inquest hears

By Louise Roseingrave

An elderly man who went to brake but hit the accelerator instead was hospitalised after his car ploughed into a lorry.

Frank Anderson (86) collided with a truck while navigating a junction on the Roebuck Road in Dublin.

He was hospitalised and expected to recover before he deteriorated suddenly in hospital four days after the crash.

“He accelerated and then went to brake when he saw something but hit the accelerator instead,” his daughter Deirdre Redmond told Dublin Coroner's Court.

The accident happened at 11am on October 6, 2016, close to the man’s home in Clonskeagh, Dublin 14.

“He was very cross with himself,” his daughter said.

Truck driver Bob O’Toole said he was stopped on the Roebuck Road when he saw the car approaching.

“The car came straight through the stop sign and into my lorry. He kept saying ‘I’m sorry, I am 100% wrong’,” Mr O’Toole said.

The man sustained superficial injuries from his seat belt but no other traumatic injuries due to the crash, the court heard.

He was treated at St Vincent's Hospital and was awaiting a convalescent bed when his condition suddenly deteriorated on October 10. He remained unwell until his death at the hospital on November 5, 2016.

An autopsy revealed he died due to severe bilateral bronchial pneumonia with a background of heart disease.

“It would seem that Mr Anderson’s death is not injury related, there is no direct connection between the road traffic collision and his death,” Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane said.

The jury returned a narrative verdict.

"Clearly he was very active and independent and that's something to be thankful for," the coroner said, extending her sympathy to the family.