A cyclist who hit a woman as she alighted a bus in Dublin, resulting in serious injuries to the woman, has been cleared of any wrongdoing in the case. The cyclist has been exonerated by the Judge James O’Donohoe, who last week labelled cyclists in Dublin as "a nightmare".
In the latest case, which came before Dublin Circuit Civil Court, it emerged Dublin Bus had joined cyclist Marcin Sroka as a third party to a €60,000 claim taken by the injured woman, Ciara Murray.
Dublin Bus had claimed Mr Sroka was to blame for the crash in Dublin in 2021, though Judge O’Donohoe concluded Dublin Bus has to blame. Its driver had allowed Ms Murray get off at an undesignated stop, resulting in the crash.
Ms Murray got off the bus on the Old Dublin Road, Santry, north Dublin, at around 8am on September 20th, 2021. When the driver reached the bus stop, two other buses had already pulled in ahead, meaning the bus Ms Murray was on was the third in line.
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However, on coming to a stop, the driver allowed Ms Murray and other passengers to alight. He did not wait for the two buses ahead to pull away and drive the estimated 30 metres to the official stop before allowing passengers off.
Ms Murray, from Swords, Dublin, was struck by Mr Sroka, also from Swords, on his bike, and was knocked out as she stepped onto a path shared by cyclists and pedestrians. She came around on a grass verge and was taken for medical treatment to nearby Beaumont Hospital.
Mr Sroka was riding downhill at the time, at around 30kmph, but said even if he was only doing 10kmph he could not have avoided hitting Ms Murray.
The driver of the bus, Larry Curran, told the court he checked his mirrors before opening the bus door and could see no cyclist approaching. He accepted he had breached the Dublin Bus code of practice in allowing passengers alight short of the official bus stop.
The verdict, holding Dublin Bus responsible, means it must pay damages to Ms Murray of €25,000 as well as the legal costs of all parties. However, Dublin Bus has been given time to consider appealing.
