A mother-of-one died in a crash as she drove her car home after a work night out, an inquest has heard.
Aoife Kelly (31), from Newcastle, southwest Co Dublin, worked as a customer service adviser at Ulster Bank in Clondalkin.
The incident happened at 4.20am on November 21st, 2014, as Ms Kelly was returning from a night out socialising with work friends.
She died after the car she was driving hit a lamppost at the junction of Nangor Road and the Outer Ring Road in Clondalkin.
Ms Kelly had been a “bright child who never caused any problems”, Dublin Coroner’s Court heard. She had recently passed her institute of banking exams, her father told the court.
“She was looking forward to a career with Ulster Bank. They held her in very high esteem,” Mr Kelly said.
The court heard Ms Kelly had been upset and in tears at work that November 20th, following a meeting with a superior at work.
Colleague James McKeever said she was “one of those types not afraid to speak her mind” but had been very upset by the meeting.
There was a work night out planned that evening. “She said, I’m going to get drunk tonight - this place is going my head in,” Mr McKeever said in his statement. The pair worked late until 7pm in preparation for a mortgage event.
‘Stupid amount of shots’
He said Ms Kelly drank beer that night and they drank “a stupid amount of shots”.
He had no recollection of leaving the pub but was later told by gardaí that Ms Kelly had dropped him home. The court heard she gave a colleague a loan of €20 for a taxi home.
Forensic collision investigator Garda Edward Davin said marks left on the road after the crash suggested the car was starting to spin as it entered the junction.
The Toyota Yaris crossed the junction and hit a lamppost before spinning 180 degrees and hitting a traffic calming pole and a barrier.
Possible swerve
Garda Davin estimated the Yaris was travelling between 75 and 79 km/h on impact and said it was possible the driver swerved to avoid something, possibly a small animal, though there was no evidence of this.
He said driving under the influence of alcohol can prompt inappropriate or excessive responses.
“It was a driver action, a swerve or quick steering action, but I can’t say what prompted that action,” Garda Davin said.
A postmortem examination revealed Ms Kelly died of traumatic head injuries due to a single vehicle crash.
She had a blood alcohol level of 194 milligrams per cent, roughly the equivalent to six or seven drinks, Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane said.
The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.