Family of drunk passenger thrown off bus but later killed by passing vehicle settle action

High Court Reporter

The family of a drunk passenger who was thrown off a bus but wandered onto a motorway and was killed by a passing vehicle has settled a High Court action over his death.

Stephen O’Driscoll, 24, was pronounced dead at the scene of the collision on the M9 near the junction at Kilcullen, Co Kildare, on December 7th, 2019.

His family on Friday settled for €20,000 a case against bus company JJ Kavanagh and Sons with offices at Urlingford, Co Kilkenny.

The family’s counsel Caroline Latham told the court that O’Driscoll had been “expelled” from the Dublin - Waterford bus and “abandoned” at around 11pm on a dark, rainy night on a slipway off the M9.

O’Driscoll, she said, was highly intoxicated and a later post-mortem showed drugs were also in his system.

The father of one from The Laurels, Tullow Road, Carlow, the court heard, had also assaulted his sister and the bus driver felt he had no option but to expel O’Driscoll from the bus.

Counsel said the weather conditions were extremely poor and O’Driscoll’s body was later found on the first lane of the M9 motorway. She said Mr O’Driscoll had “come out of nowhere “ on the carriageway.

She said at issue in the case was the duty of care by the bus company to O’Driscoll and whether the gardaí should have been phoned to deal with the drunk O’Driscoll on the bus.

The proceedings against the bus company were brought by the deceased’s sister, Chloe O’Driscoll.

It was claimed there was an alleged failure to have any or any adequate regard for the safety of O’Driscoll and an alleged failure to have regard to the road weather and lighting conditions which prevailed prior to and at the time of his ejection from the bus.

It was further claimed that O'Driscoll had been ejected at an unsafe location on the public highway and there was an alleged failure to stop and eject him at a safe and appropriate location.

All of the claims were denied.

Noting the settlement Judge Paul Coffey expressed his deepest sympathy to the O’Driscoll family.

The inquest into O’Driscoll’s death heard how several motorists had to take evasive action after suddenly coming across O’Driscoll on the motorway.

A garda forensic collision investigator told the inquest the driver had no reasonable opportunity to avoid hitting the pedestrian given the visibility of dipped lights on an unlit section of motorway in poor weather conditions.

A verdict of accidental death was returned in the case.