A trucker drove from Dublin to Portlaoise not realising he had hit and killed a cyclist. He said he had never even seen the victim.
The inquest into the death of a man killed while cycling home from work last year has been told the driver who fatally injured him drove off not realising what had happened.
David Rynne, a 39-year-old from Griffeen Glen Green, Lucan, Co Dublin, was fatally injured while cycling home from his job in Citywest, Co Dublin, in January of last year.
He was wearing a helmet at the time and had front and back lights on his bike and a light on his backpack.
The collision occurred at Citywest roundabout but truck driver George Cooper said he was unaware he had hit Mr Rynne and had never even seen him on the road.
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He continued driving away from the crash scene at 5.30pm on January 27th and made his way back to Laois Hire Service’s depot in Portlaoise unaware what had happened.
“I never saw a cyclist at all; it came as a great shock,” Mr Cooper said.
The inquest jury delivered a verdict of death by misadventure.
It recommended a review of the lighting at the roundabout where Mr Rynne died and a review of the requirements around the lighting and reflective clothing for cyclists.
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The inquest was told that Mr Rynne was positioned to the left, or passenger side, of the truck being driven by Mr Cooper as it was taking the first exit off the roundabout onto the M7 roundabout.
However, Dublin City Coroner Dr Brian Farrell said he was unable to say precisely how the collision occurred because there were no eyewitnesses and Mr Cooper was unaware of anything untoward at the time.
Only one motorist, Caroline Fleming, could recall seeing Mr Rynne cycling in the area at the time.
She told the hearing on Wednesday she remembered thinking it was a wet and dark evening for anyone to be out cycling or walking when he cycled passed her car.
The next time she saw Mr Rynne he was on the ground up the road having been struck by Mr Cooper’s truck.
Members of the public surrounded Mr Rynne and were trying to revive him when gardai and paramedics arrived.
However, the victim was in cardiac arrest and unconscious when the ambulance arrived and he was pronounced dead a short time later.
A post mortem on his remains revealed a tyre mark on his thigh and crush injuries to his upper legs, pelvis and trunk.
An examination of Mr Cooper’s truck identified evidence of the collision including damage to the stairwell leading up to the passenger door, contact marks on a tyre and a “rub” mark on the underneath of the vehicle.
Dr Farrell commented that any cyclist or pedestrian on the inside of a large vehicle turning left was in danger.
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