File on death of prison officer in motorbike crash to be forwarded to DPP in near future, inquest hears
Derek Martin suffered fatal injuries in the crash which occurred on the northbound section of the M50 between the Liffey Valley and Castleknock junctions on May 17, 2024
A file on a garda investigation into the death of a prison officer when his motorcycle was involved in a collision on the M50 last year is to be forwarded to the DPP in the near future, an inquest has heard.
Derek Martin (42), who worked at Wheatfield Prison in Dublin, suffered fatal injuries in the crash which occurred on the northbound section of the M50 between the Liffey Valley and Castleknock junctions on May 17, 2024.
The motorcycle driven by the married father of two from Hampton Wood Avenue, Finglas was involved in a collision with a lorry shortly after 10.15am.
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Mr Martin, who had worked as a prison officer since 2007, was pronounced deceased at the scene, while the driver of the lorry – a male in his 50s – was taken to hospital for assessment.
At the opening of the inquest into his death at Dublin District Coroner’s Court on Thursday, the deceased’s wife, Vanessa Pollard Martin, gave evidence of formally identifying her husband’s body to gardaí at the mortuary in Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown.
Garda Emma Fenton told the hearing that she had been dispatched to the scene of a collision on the M50 between a lorry and a motorcycle.
She gave evidence of finding the body of a male in the middle lane of the motorway with a motorcycle lying on the ground.
The coroner, Cróna Gallagher, informed the deceased’s relatives that a post-mortem had found Mr Martin had died from a head injury which was formally classified as "cranial cerebral trauma".
Detective Inspector Liam Donoghue applied for a six-month adjournment of the inquest under Section 25 (1) of the Coroners Act on the basis that criminal proceedings were being considered.
Det Insp Donoghue told the coroner that he expected a file on the case would be forwarded to the DPP within the next four weeks.
He said he believed that gardaí would be able to progress the matter on the next scheduled hearing date.
Dr Gallagher granted the application and adjourned the inquest for mention to July 7, 2025.
Offering her condolences to relatives of the deceased, the coroner explained that a possible criminal investigation had to take precedence over the holding of the inquest.
Separately, the court heard that a file is also expected to be sent to the DPP shortly in relation to a fatal collision involving a cyclist in Co Leitrim in December 2023.
Alan Fletcher (67) a married father of three of Drumgeaglom, Co Leitrim and previously from Clonsilla, Dublin, died at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin on January 10, 2024 where he had been brought after sustaining serious injuries in a crash over three weeks earlier.
The fatal incident involved a crash between a car and Mr Fletcher’s bicycle at around 2pm on the R284 between Battlebridge and Leitrim Village, Co Leitrim on December 19, 2023.
The deceased’s wife, Bernie Fletcher, broke down crying as she gave evidence by video link of formally identifying her husband’s body to gardaí in Beaumont Hospital.
Dr Gallagher said a post-mortem showed Mr Fletcher had died from severe head injuries.
Det Ins Donoghue was granted an application for a three-month adjournment of the inquest after he informed the coroner that he expected a decision by the DPP on whether there would be any criminal prosecution would be made within that period.
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