A cyclist suffered fatal head injuries in a Sligo crash after he hit a road works sign put in place on a cycle lane to warn road users that nearby traffic lights were malfunctioning, an inquest into his death has heard.
The coroner, Fergal Kelly, returned a verdict of misadventure after the hearing was told of a degree of risk on the part of the cyclist and possibly also taken by Sligo County Council.
Issues were raised during the inquest about the location the sign was placed and also around the fact a sandbag used to anchor it down was black and would have been hard to see. A barrister for the family of the victim, and his partner, said he believed the sign was collapsed on the road when the crash happened.
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Maurice Rice (52) of Rathanna, Sligo, and formerly of Dublin suffered his head injuries on Pearse Rd, in the direction of Sligo Town, in December, 2023. He went into cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead in hospital just over an hour after the crash.
He was close to his home when he hit the sign, in the cycle lane, just before 11.30pm on the night of December 13th. The sign had been placed there to warn road users of the malfunctioning traffic lights at the junction of Pearse Rd and Circular Rd.
Mr Rice had been socialising with friends in Walkers Bar that evening and was due to travel to Dublin the next morning where he planned to join his partner. The recent inquest hearing was told he was not wearing a cycling helmet, did not have lights on his bike and had 84mgs of alcohol in his system.
The inquest also heard Sligo County Council erected the signs warning of malfunctioning lights and also posted about the issue on social media. A risk assessment was also carried out before the signs were put in place.
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The inquest heard from Paul O’Rourke, acting senior engineer with Sligo County Council, who said the erection of the signs was in line with Department of Transport guidelines and that the staff who put them in place had been trained.
Damien Tansey SC, representing the Rice family and the deceased man's partner Olga Higgins, said the sandbags were black and Mr O'Rourke agreed there were risks involved in the placing of the signs.
Mr Tansey also said of the signs had been placed in a hatched area alongside the cycle lane, the fatal crash would not have happened. A hatched area is one marked by white or yellow lines to prevent driver's entering those spaces.
Investigations and examinations carried out by gardaí found Mr Rice may have been travelling at a speed of 21kmph, which was regarded as average for an urban area. The warning sign was found at the crash scene knocked over, possibly as Mr Rice crashed into it.
However, the possibility the sign was knocked over before Mr Rice arrived into the area, and that he could not see it, and hit it as it lay on the ground, could not be ruled out.
Mr Tansey said there was no evidence the signs were checked during the day, after they were erected. He believed all the evidence suggested the sign had collapsed onto the ground, and that it should have been placed in the hatched area.
The Garda inquiry also found it was possible the victim had crashed because he hit the black sandbag weighing down the sign and which was not visible. The forensic collision report by the Garda found Mr Rice did not see the warning sign.
