Daughter of elderly pedestrian who died after collision with truck is highly critical of Garda investigation

The daughter of an elderly pedestrian who died a month after being struck by a heavy goods vehicle near her home in Dublin has sharply criticised the Garda investigation into the collision.

A sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court heard that Margaret McGibney (75) from Drimnagh died at St James’s Hospital on March 9, 2021 as a result of a number of medical complications.

The inquest into the death of Ms McGibney, who was known as “Margie”, heard she had been brought to the hospital following an incident at a traffic lights at Drimnagh Avenue, Drimnagh on February 11, 2021.

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A commercial truck driver, Ion Donici, told the hearing that he had no idea that he was involved in a collision until he had been shown CCTV footage of the incident by gardai.

Mr Donici, a Romanian national, said he had not seen or felt the victim hitting his truck.

“I was not aware I collided with anyone,” said Mr Donici.

He explained he would have stopped his vehicle and sought help if he knew someone had been injured at the time.

The victim’s daughter, Sandra McGibney-Peen, said the truck driver might be innocent but she complained her family would never know for sure because the Garda investigation had not been conducted “in a reasonable time.”

18/04/'24 Delivery driver, Ion Donici pictured leaving the Dublin District Coroner's Court after giving evidence at the inquest into the death of Margaret McGibney
(Image: Collins)

The coroner, Clare Keane, observed that she was unable to verify a claim made by Ms McGibney’s daughter that it had been stated at a preliminary hearing of the inquest that the Garda investigation had been “sub-optimal.”

The inquest heard a forensic examination of Mr Donici’s truck conducted on March 12, 2021 – the day after the driver had been identified as being involved in the collision with Ms McGibney – found no defects with the vehicle apart from a broken horn.

Garda Michael Cleary told the hearing that he was alerted to the incident on Drimnagh Road just before midday on February 11, 2021 but was unable to attend the scene immediately because he was involved in investigating a cash-in-transit robbery.

Garda Cleary said there was nobody at the location when he arrived at around 1.10pm so he spoke to Ms McGibney while she was on a trolley at St James’s Hospital.

Although he intended to return to the hospital the following day to take a full statement from the injured woman, he explained he was unable to because the patient had been isolated due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The witness said he had obtained CCTV footage from the Black Forge pub near the scene of the collision which showed the victim crossing the road near a junction while Mr Donici’s truck was stopped at traffic lights.

Garda Cleary said the vehicle appeared to start moving just as Ms McGibney was gesticulating upwards towards the lorry driver as she was about to pass in front of his truck.

He said the victim almost got across the road but the footage did not show exactly what happened.

Garda Cleary said Ms McGibney appeared to break into a brisk walk or jog when she saw the traffic lights changing.

In reply to questions from the coroner, Garda Cleary said every Garda resource would have been given to the incident if it had been a fatal collision.

18/04/'24 Garda Michael Cleary pictured leaving the Dublin District Coroner's Court after giving evidence at the inquest into the death of Margaret McGibney
(Image: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin)

However, he said it was not clear at the time if Ms McGibney had fallen or been struck by the truck.

Garda Cleary apologised to the victim’s daughter for the criticisms she had of the Garda investigation but said he was dealing with “a sequence of events as they happened.”

The garda explained that he had never taken a witness statement by videolink, as suggested by Ms McGibney-Peen, as they had to be signed.

However, he expressed regret that a family liaison officer had not been appointed earlier.

Ms McGibney-Peen told the hearing that gardaí had only been able to establish the identity of the truck driver because she had suggested businesses which might have CCTV footage.

She told the coroner that she “chased” gardaí twice a week for updates about their investigation into the collision.

“Nothing was done in a timely fashion,” she complained.

Ms McGibney-Peen who attended the inquest by videolink from her home in Britain, claimed that the story of gardaí appeared to keep changing.

She said it had been “very upsetting” and “incredibly hurtful” to be told that nobody had assisted her mother following the collision only to be subsequently informed that lots of people had helped her including someone who had brought her a chair.

Ms McGibney-Peen said it seemed like she had to become “a nuisance” to get answers from the gardaí about what had happened to her mother.

The inquest heard Ms McGibney had suffered multiple fractures including a broken pelvis as a result of the incident.

A consultant orthopaedic surgeon at St James’s Hospital, John McKenna, said Ms McGibney also contracted Covid-19 and a clot on her lung while in hospital.

Ms McGibney-Peen said her mother must have got Covid-19 from hospital staff who were in her isolation ward.

Dr Keane said a post-mortem had concluded that the fractures to the deceased’s body were not fatal on their own but that the hospital stay had made her more vulnerable.

The coroner said the cause of death was a form of pneumonia against a background of multiple fractures due to a road traffic collision.

She said an enlarged ventricle of Ms McGibney’s heart was a contributory factor, while the Covid-19 infection had probably caused the problems with her lungs.

Dr Keane recorded a narrative verdict to reflect the “complex” issues in the case.

Ms McGibney-Peen, who had formally identified her mother’s body remotely due to the pandemic, said it had been the “most difficult thing” to see her mother dying on her own.

Alluding to the Garda investigation which she referred to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, she observed: “There was no need for any of that upset to be added to.”

“They seriously dropped the ball,” she added.