A 48-year-old cyclist killed coming down a steep hill had no working brakes and was not wearing a helmet.
The Cork City Coroner’s Court has heard a 48-year-old man who died following a fall from his bike on one of the city’s steepest streets had no brakes and was not wearing a helmet.
Charles O’Sullivan, Reendowney Place, Friar’s Walk, Cork, crashed at the bottom of Shandon Street close to the city centre on July 1st last year.
He suffered very significant head injuries which resulted in his death.
The court heard Mr O’Sullivan hit a kerb, lost control and was thrown from the bike he had found abandoned in a park on the city’s south side.
An intensive care unit nurse came upon the accident moments after it happened and administered CPR.
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An emergency first responder also tried to resuscitate Mr O’Sullivan but he never recovered from his injuries.
The deceased man had been fishing with his brother earlier in the afternoon before returning to a Chimes Bar off Shandon St on the north side where they stayed for a number of hours.
The fatal accident occurred on Shandon St in Cork City on July 1st last year.
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Before they left for the pub, Mr O’Sullivan had been informed by others in there about the poor state of the bike, with the front brake not working. He had attempted to fix it but to no avail.
The court later heard how during the time the brothers spent in the pub, Mr O’Sullivan told another customer that someone “went at the brakes”.
When that customer took a look at the state of the bike he noted the brakes “were in bits”.
After having two pints each, the brothers left the pub and cycled their bikes in the direction of the city centre before 6pm, a time at which it would have been bright in mid-summer.
One witness who saw the accident recalled how he saw Mr O’Sullivan try to slow down as he descended the steep Shandon St by jamming one foot against the back wheel and another on the road. However, he lost balance and fell.
Mr O'Sullivan had not been wearing a helmet at the time. The medical cause of death was traumatic brain and neck injury, consistent with a fall from a bike.
Gardaí found no evidence anyone had tampered with the brakes, and that the poor condition of the bike contributed to the accident.
The inquest jury returned a verdict of death due to misadventure.
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