The wife of a motorcyclist who died during a race has said she and their children have been left in a “state of shock and despair”.
Darren Keys (34), from Ballyclare, Co Antrim, died at Walderstown in Co Westmeath on July 14th, 2019, while taking part in a road racing event.
Mr Keys’s wife, Justine, told his inquest on Friday that “the kids really miss their father”. The couple had two children together, and Mr Keys had another child from a previous relationship.
A jury returned a verdict of death by misadventure at Dublin Coroner’s Court. The court heard the cause of death was multiple traumatic injuries due to a motorcycle collision.
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The inquest was told how a red flag, which signals to motorcyclists to slow down and requires a race to be halted, had been initially raised by a road marshall due to reports of a spectator on the track.
This then caused a second red flag to be raised, just as three riders were coming into a bend on the road. The first two riders slowed down and the front tyre of the third motorcyclist, Mr Keys, hit the back tyre of the rider in front of him, causing him to lose control and crash into a residential wall.
Garda Sgt Thomas Brennan, a qualified forensic collision investigator, attended the scene. He said there had been the “slightest of touch” between Mr Keys’s front tyre and the back tyre of the rider in front of him.
This contact caused Mr Keys to lose control of the bike and he crashed into a safety barrier which rose with the impact. He then slid under the barrier and hit the wall.
Sgt Brennan said he was not able to determine the speed of the motorcycle at the time of the collision, but it was likely a “significant speed”.
Dr Aidan Grufferty, consultant in emergency medicine and clinical lead of the medical team at the race, said Mr Keys was found to have no pulse and was not breathing. Advanced life support measures were initiated and interventions were carried out.
Mr Keys was transferred via helicopter to the Phoenix Park and was then brought in an ambulance to the Mater Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Ms Keys said motorcycling was a “big part” of her husband’s life and that he was an experienced rider. He had been interested in motorbikes since he was five years old and had competed heavily in a number of track and road races.
Ms Keys said he had won a race in Skerries, north Dublin, the weekend before his death, and had travelled to Co Westmeath with his father and son.
She said she was from a nursing background and had come off a night shift when she got a phone call from her mother-in-law at about noon that July 14th.
“She was at my front door. She came in and told me that Darren had been in an accident and we had to travel to Dublin,” Ms Keys said in a statement to the court.
“I phoned his father for an update, he was also driving to Dublin hospital. I asked if Darren was talking, he told me that he wasn’t.
“This was the first time that Darren had been hospitalised in his racing career. I prepared myself for the worst due to my own work experience … When I arrived at the hospital, Darren was already dead.”
The court heard that Mr Keys’s bike and equipment had been inspected prior to the race and were in order. Mr Keys had also taken part in practice laps of the route.
The seven-person jury returned their verdict and also made recommendations to Motorcycling Ireland to review the efficacy of safety barriers.
They also recommended a possible review of spectator control by motorcycling clubs and to look at whether there could be in-helmet communication between riders and the directors of races.
