Inquest in Kerry finds road death of teen (14) following garda pursuit was ‘accidental’
The KerrymanThe death of a 14-year-old in a crash following a garda pursuit through downtown Killarney has been ruled an ‘accidental death’ at a coroner’s inquest.
A jury of three men and three women listened as Alfie Barrett, now 20, recalled the night his friend, Thomas Healy, had picked him up and driven them into Killarney. Mr Barrett was 15 at the time.
The boys had attended primary school and played football together.
“Thomas was nearly my best friend,” said Mr Barrett, who is now an apprentice at Liebherr. “I didn’t find out he had died until two days later. I didn’t get to go to the funeral because I was in intensive care.”
He said it was the only time he had ever snuck out to meet his friend, who was driving an old car used on his family’s farm.
“We were just going to drive around and then we got the idea to go to Killarney,” Mr Barrett told the jury.
Thomas Healy, who was from an area near the Gap of Dunloe, drove to Killarney, where they parked in an empty supermarket parking lot and chatted before deciding to drive home.
On the way, they drove by a garda van.
Mr Barrett said he and Mr Healy turned down Ross Road and were pursued closely by the van with its lights flashing and siren on. He testified that the garda van fell back briefly but was close behind moments before the crash.
Mr Barrett told the jury it was the first time he had seen Mr Healy drive on a public road and described his friend as a good driver.
“We were trying to keep each other calm and kept saying to each other, ‘we’re going to be alright’. Thomas was a bit panicked, his face was going red.”
He said his friend was “nervous and shaking”.
“The last thing I remember is the garda van coming right up behind us.”
Mr Barrett’s injuries included a broken femur, broken ankle and broken teeth.
Garda Seán O’Sullivan said he began to pursue the vehicle at 1.05am when he saw dirt that appeared to “deliberately obscure” the registration plate and noticed the vehicle’s passenger continuously looking back.
In his deposition, he said he had stopped pursuing the car at the top of the Ross Road to make a phone call and saw its “tail-lights disappearing”. When he next saw the car, he said, it had crashed.
“As I approached Ross Castle car park, I discovered the Corolla had crashed into a tree,” said Gda O’Sullivan.
No lights were on when he arrived at the crash.
He added, “I lost sight on Ross Road and then I didn’t see him after that until I came across the accident.”
Gda O’Sullivan estimated Mr Healy was driving at up to 60kph when he encountered him; and the garda himself reached a speed of between 70 and 80kph during the brief pursuit. He estimated the closest he got to Mr Healy’s car was between 50 and 60 feet.
Dr Margot Bolster, assistant state pathologist, told the jury that Mr Healy had died due to blunt force trauma to the chest from the crash. She said it would have been immediate, and Mr Healy had not suffered.
No alcohol or drugs were found in his system, she added.
The court saw CCTV footage from properties along the road and heard from investigators.
It appeared the vehicle had driven headfirst into a large tree by Ross Castle in an unlit area without breaking, Garda Mark O’Connor, a forensics collision investigator told the court. It was likely the headlights were off at the time of impact.
Coroner Aisling Quilter told the jury that the intent of the inquest was to determine the cause, not the responsibility, of the death.
The court heard an investigation by the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission concluded in October 2022 found Gda O’Sullivan was not at fault.
Solicitor for the Healy family, Daniel O’Connor, opened by stating that his office and the Healy family were notified of the inquest one day in advance of proceedings, and after the close of business.
Coroner Quilter said notices were sent on July 8.