An inquest hearing has concluded the death of a 10-year-old
boy, who died while cycling after a crash involving a driver in an SUV, was
accidental.
Adam Lyons, Borris, Co Carlow, was cycling with friends near his home in June, 2020, when he died. The inquest into his death heard young Adam came out of a minor road at a T-junction and collided with the car.
Garda evidence suggested Adam effectively glanced off the
vehicle, with the impact throwing him against a nearby wall.
The SUV was being driven by former jockey turned horse
trainer, Aidan Fitzgerald, who keeps horses at Ballymartin, Co Carlow. The
hearing at Dublin Coroner’s Court heard no criminal charge arose from the crash.
However, Mr Fitzgerald had been convicted of having no valid on NCT on his Toyota Land Cruiser at the time.
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Adam was cycling with two friends at about 1.30pm on
Thursday, June 25th, 2020, when he came out of the side road onto the Borris to
Fenagh road that Mr Fitzgerald was driving on.
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Mr Fitzgerald said the boy appeared from the side road
and he had no time to stop before the moment of impact, though his vehicle came
to a stop almost immediately. He said he was traveling quite slowly, and
estimated his speed at about 20km per hour.
An analysis of Mr Fitzgerald’s phone showed it had not
been in use at the time of the crash and he also passed a roadside intoxicant
test. A postmortem on Adam’s remains showed he had internal bleeding a
collapsed lung and broken left femur, among other injuries.
Mr Fitzgerald was returning from a field he rented in the
area and was carrying his two daughters in his SUV at the time. He said moments
before the crash he had pulled his vehicle into the verge to allow three girls
on bikes to pass, one of whom was Adam’s sister.
Statements were taken from the two boys Adam was cycling
with and one of them said they had gone to collect a part for a computer game.
That statement added when all three came to the T-junction – which had no road
markings or stop sign – they had stopped but Adam had “kept going on”.
He went out into the road as Mr Fitzgerald’s car was
passing the junction and the collision occurred. Mr Fitzgerald stopped within
metres and he and another man tried to revive Adam with CPR.
The boy was then airlifted to Temple St Hospital, Dublin,
but sadly died there later that day. His 12th birthday would have fallen next
week. Coroner Dr Clare Keane recorded a
verdict of accidental death and extended her sympathies to Adam’s family.
