Motorist responsible for crash in which Cork woman died thinks of grieving family all the time
A young motorist whose car went over on to the wrong side of the road hitting another vehicle and causing the death of a woman with intellectual disabilities has said that the grieving parents of the deceased are always in her thoughts.
A young motorist whose car went over on to the wrong side of the road hitting another vehicle and causing the death of a woman with intellectual disabilities has said that the grieving parents of the deceased are always in her thoughts.
A verdict of accidental death was recorded at the inquest in to the death of Sharon Healy from Kiskeam, Co Cork.
The 41 year old died following a two car collision at Brennan’s Glen on the N22 between Farranfore and Killarney in Co Kerry shortly before 2pm on March 8, 2020. She had been out for Sunday lunch with her parents Ted and Peg shortly before the crash occurred.
Kerry Coroner’s Court in Tralee heard that then UCC student Maedbh Heaney was driving from Cork to Kerry for a match with a friend Emma Maguire when her car went around a bend on the wrong side of the road. It collided with a car being driven by Ted Healy.
Sharon was a back seat passenger in the car. She died at the scene whilst her mother Peg, who was sitting in the front of the vehicle, sustained serious injuries.
Ms Heaney from Rochestown in Cork wept as she gave evidence by video link at the inquest. The 25 year old said that the Healy family were never far away from her thoughts and that she has no recollection of what occurred.
She asked forensic collision investigator, Sgt Tomas Barry, whether she could have hit a pothole on the road causing her car to cross over to the other side of the road.
He said that there was no evidence to support this proposition. He noted that two potholes she mentioned were 60.5 metres from where the crash occurred. The potholes have since been filled.
Ms Heaney was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash and both vehicles were roadworthy. Speeding was also not an issue in the case.
Meanwhile, Ted Healy told the inquest that it was as if the car driven by Maedbh Heaney had dropped out of the sky. He remembered hearing a big bang and seeing the windscreen of his car shatter in to pieces.
Peg Healy said that she lost consciousness in the aftermath of the collision.
“I don’t remember anything for a week after the crash. I was told she (Sharon) didn’t make it.”
Ms Heaney was previously found guilty of careless driving causing the death of Sharon Healy, and of causing serious bodily harm to Peg Healy and Emma Maguire.
In May of last year she was sentenced to 120 hours of community service, disqualified from driving for six years and ordered to pay a fine of €7,500.
The court heard that she works in cancer research in the US.
Meanwhile, witnesses to the crash spoke of their efforts to help the occupants of both cars.
A motorist also recalled seeing a black car being driven on the wrong side of the road for a few seconds before going around a bend colliding in to the vehicle being driven by Ted Healy.
Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster carried out a postmortem examination on Sharon Healy at University Hospital in Kerry. It revealed that she died of polytrauma with blunt force trauma to her thorax and abdomen in addition to laceration of heart and liver.
Coroner Aisling Quilter commended all those who had come to the assistance of the injured parties on the day. She offered her heartfelt condolences to Ted and Peg Healy at the loss of their daughter Sharon. Her sentiments were echoed by gardaí and by a legal representative appointed by Ms Heaney.
The inquest also heard it was a source of “great solace” to Mr and Mrs Healy that the death of their daughter was “instant.” They thanked the Coroner for her assistance.
Sharon Healy is survived by her parents and her siblings David and Mairead, her nephew Luke, her aunts and uncles and her large circle of friends at St Joseph’s in Charleville.
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