A MAN died after a car rolled over him while he was preparing to move it to allow an oil delivery take place at his home, an inquest at Bandon District Court heard last week.
Stanley Horan of Ballinvragnosig, Riverstick died on February 22nd 2023 while trying to stop the car, but lost his footing during the incident which saw the car with one door open roll over him and crash up against a barrier.
His wife, Helen Horan, told coroner Frank O’Connell that she didn’t hear her late husband getting up on the morning of February 22nd but that he had got up to move a car in their driveway as they were expecting an oil delivery.
‘I heard a loud bang and when I looked outside, I saw people trying to resuscitate Stanley on the driveaway,’ she told the inquest.
Their neighbour, Morgane Cipollone, said she was getting her daughter ready for school that morning when she heard a loud metallic bang. When she ran over, she saw Mr Horan on the ground.
She rang her neighbour, Chaliese Jones, who then arrived and began performing CPR on Mr Horan, while they also called emergency services. Ms Jones had also brought a blanket, while her husband took over CPR the ambulance arrived.
Stephen Horan, son of the deceased, who lives nearby, said when he arrived he saw his dad on the driveway with his shirt open and soon after was pronounced dead.
Gda John Stack of Ballinhassing Garda Station said that when he arrived at the scene of the accident, he met with Dr Jason van der Velde who pronounced Mr Horan dead at 9.31am.
He said that footage from two CCTV cameras showed Mr Horan standing between two cars on his driveway at 8.54am.
‘One of the cars, a Ford Fiesta, is then seen moving and he puts his hands on it, but trips. It took off at speed and rolled over him and hit a barrier,’ said Gda Stack, who said the car hadn’t the handbrake on at the time and was parked on a level surface.
Assistant State pathologist Dr Margot Bolster said Mr Horgan had suffered crushing injuries to his chest, resulting in collapsed lungs and fractured ribs as a result of
being knocked down by the car. He also received an injury to his spinal cord.
Mr O’Connell’s verdict was accidental death caused by blunt force chest trauma.
