Driver under water for number of minutes, inquest hears
A driver whose car veered off track and flipped over into a flooded stream at a forestry rally in Co Kerry was submerged under water for five to six minutes, an inquest has heard.
Eoin McCarthy, a 22-year-old driver from Dunmanway, Co Cork, tragically died during the fourth stage of the Killarney Forestry Rally in Mount Eagle near Castleisland on February 20, 2022. He was navigating in his second ever rally alongside Daniel O'Brien when their car veered off a bridge and landed upside down in a stream. Chief medical officer Dr. Fiona Kelly informed the Coroner’s Court that McCarthy was submerged under water for five to six minutes without oxygen, which was estimated to have given him a very poor prognosis upon transfer to hospital.
CPR and defibrillation were administered at the scene, yet the medical team believed his condition was incompatible with life. McCarthy was medically evacuated to Cork University Hospital but succumbed to his injuries there. Despite the challenging transfer, the inquest heard that the timing of the transfer did not impact the outcome.
Vice President of Motorsport Ireland, John Naylor, testified that the weather on the day was not a reason to cancel the rally, as the event was a challenge between the driver and the machine, with rain being a normal feature of such events. Naylor also stated that tracking technology had advanced significantly in the past year. However, the McCarthy family's barrister, Derek Ryan, questioned Naylor about whether he had conducted interviews with witnesses at the scene or later, to which Naylor replied he had not.
Ryan also alleged that Motorsport Ireland did not provide any follow-up or assistance to the deceased's loved ones after the tragedy. Dermot Healy, the Clerk of the Course, apologized for this and stated he had contacted the family, urging them to seek support from ABATE counselling. Advanced paramedic Padraig McGlynn, who treated McCarthy at the scene, said the young man was successfully shocked and breathing on his own again before being transferred to the helicopter.
He added that McCarthy was a fit young man who received the best chance of survival from the medical team at the scene, and that there would be no pain or suffering as he was unaware of what was happening.
Written by urgent.news from RTE News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
