A 68-year-old priest who drove into the path of a train after being blinded by the sun died from his injuries, an inquest in Galway heard yesterday.
Shanaglish parish priest Father Patrick Healy had been travelling in his Micra car on Friday, February 13th, last when he accidentally drove on to the Carrowmeenish level crossing at Oranmore. The inquest jury found he died instantly from the injuries he sustained in the accident which were consistent with a collision between a car and a train.
Mr David Naughton said he had been travelling from Claregalway to Oranmore behind a Micra, and a bright sun was shining straight into his eyes. The driver of the car in front of him failed to stop at the level crossing at Oranmore, and drove through the safety barrier.
Mr Naughton said the driver attempted to put his car into reverse, but he drove forward instead, and collided with the train. The car was severed in half by the impact.
Mr Mairtin Forde, a probationary train driver, said he was being supervised by Mr Ian Bergin as he drove the train from Dublin to Galway.
He said the train was travelling at about 70m.p.h. as it approached the level crossing at Oranmore. When he noticed a small, grey car travelling at speed towards the junction, he sounded the horn and applied the emergency brake, but it continued to move slowly onto the track.
The inquest heard that Father Healy was wheelchair-bound as a result of a neurological disorder, and a consultant pathologist, Dr Malcolm Little, said this could explain the victim's difficulty in driving and in escaping from the car.