Man, 33, who died in road accident had earlier taken drugs and alcohol at house party

A 33 year old man died following road crash after leaving a house party where he had consumed drugs and alcohol.

Father of three Keith Murphy was travelling on the R705 between Leighlinbridge and Bagnelstown in Co Carlow when the accident happened at 8.50am on April 29 2018.

Speaking following an inquest into his death his partner Kathleen Lakes said:

"Keith was an amazing Dad and partner and he is deeply missed and loved by myself and his children Ava, Leah and Jack"

Miss Lakes said the couple had gone to a confirmation the previous day and had gone out afterwards. They were due to get a lift home at 1am but Mr Murphy wanted to go to a party.

“We didn’t get out much because of the kids and Keith loved being out,” Miss Lakes said.

She said her partner was lively and active at the party and she was upset because she suspected he had taken something. He told her he had taken cocaine. At 8.20am he left the party and drove off in the direction of Bagnelstown.

Witness Ann Bambrick heard a loud bang outside her house at Dunleckney, Muine Beag, Co Carlow at 8.45am. She told the court this is the second fatality at this location and accidents there are commonplace.

“The pillar was knocked and there was debris on the road. I looked in the car and there was a young man with his head down. He was pale and unresponsive,” she said.

Mr Murphy was rushed to St Luke’s hospital in Kilkenny before he was transferred to St James’s Hospital in Dublin. Doctors performed emergency surgery to save his life but were unable to stop the blood loss, Dublin Coroner’s Court heard.

The cause of death was hypovolemic shock due transection of the aorta due to a road traffic collision.

Mr Murphy had the equivalent of nine alcohol drinks in his system at the time of the crash, the inquest heard. A toxicology report showed low levels of cocaine, Xanax and an anti-depressant.

Garda Maurice Mahon said the driver was travelling at between 68kmph and 110kmph in a 60kmph zone. The point of impact was the front passenger side of the car and the driver was not wearing his seat-belt.

“It is tragic and clear that he just didn’t have the ability to control the car going around the bend and that was due to his impaired judgement, having taken these substances and been up all night," Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane said.

“It would appear that he was travelling at more than the speed limit at a place where we know motorists have experienced difficulty before,” the coroner said, returning a verdict of misadventure.