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Buncrana pier deaths: man tells inquest of battle to rescue baby Buncrana pier deaths: driver was three times of drink drive limit
(about 3 hours later)
An Irish man who was awarded a medal for bravery after saving a baby from drowning has recalled the harrowing moments when he saw the rest of the child’s family sink below the waters of a lough in County Donegal. The driver of a SUV that slipped off a slipway in the Irish Republic killing five members of a family from Derry may have been three times over the drink drive limit, an inquest into their deaths has heard.
In a statement David Walsh, who swam out into Lough Swilly last year to rescue the infant from a sinking Audi jeep, told how he tried to save her older brother from drowning. Sean McGrotty, 49, was found to have 159 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. The drink drive limit in the Irish Republic is 50mg.
Walsh’s evidence was read out at the inquest into how five members of a Derry family drowned after the jeep they were travelling in slid off a pier at Buncrana on 20 March 2016. He died alongside his sons Mark, 12, and Evan, eight, his wife’s 14-year-old sister, Jodie-Lee, and her mother, Ruth Daniels, 59, after their Audi Q7 slid off Buncrana pier into the waters of Lough Swilly in County Donegal.
Louise McGrotty’s sons Mark, 12, and Evan, eight, died alongside her husband Sean, her mother Ruth Daniels and her 14-year-old sister, Jodie-Lee, after their Audi jeep slid off Buncrana pier into the waters of the lough. McGrotty’s wife, Louise, was returning from a weekend hen party in Liverpool at the time.
At the time of the tragedy, Louise McGrotty was returning from a weekend hen party in Liverpool when she learned about the deaths. Only the couple’s infant daughter, Rioghnach-Ann, survived thanks to passerby David Walsh. He dived into the lough, swam to the sinking SUV and managed to rescue the child.
Only her baby daughter Rioghnach-Ann survived thanks to the bravery of Walsh. He dived into the lough, swam to the sinking jeep and managed to rescue the infant before swimming back with the child to shore. During the hearing on Wednesday, state pathologist Dr Catriona Dillon told about the alcohol level in McGrotty’s blood, adding: “I cannot say what level of impairment the driver had, that depends on was he habitual, was he accustomed.”
At the inquest in the Lake of Shadows hotel in Buncrana on Wednesday, David Walsh’s testimony was read out. He said he heard “screaming and shouting” coming from the jeep. The inquest also heard that it would have cost just €400 to clear the pier of the green algae that has been cited as a factor in McGrotty losing control of the car on 20 March last year. Witnesses reported that the algae had made the slipway “slippery as ice”.
He said: “I saw the driver trying to break the car window with his elbow, he broke the window. “I said to him: ‘Everyone needs to get out now.’ The father passed the baby out the window, he sat on the ledge with his hands on the roof – I had to reach up to get the baby.” John McLaughlin, of Donegal county council, said the purpose of cleaning the slipway was to facilitate a ferry which used it during the summer but not in the winter.
Walsh described the car as “tilted with the front under the water and the back wheel up”. The council commissioned consultants to draw up a report after the accident.
He continued: “I then saw a young boy try to climb over the back of the driver’s seat. I grabbed him by the hand but he was caught on something. The water started to gush into the car, I still had the boy’s hand but the car went under the water, nose first. McLaughlin added: “The €400 talks about removing it [algae] once but it does not say the frequency of removal, so that will be a matter for Donegal county council and the total cost. But certainly €400 sseems low.”
He said during winter the slipway was rarely used and that the council was doing everything in its power within its budget to ensure no repeat of the accident.
There was no barrier to prevent people or vehicles going along the slipway and that risk assessment on it had not been carried out for 15 years, lawyer Keith O’Grady told the inquest.
Earlier Walsh recalled the moments when he saw the rest of the family sink underwater.
In a statement he said he heard “screaming and shouting” coming from the SUV.
“I saw the driver trying to break the car window with his elbow, he broke the window. I said to him: ‘Everyone needs to get out now.’ The father passed the baby out the window, he sat on the ledge with his hands on the roof – I had to reach up to get the baby.”
Walsh described the vehicle as “tilted with the front under the water and the back wheel up”. He continued: “I then saw a young boy try to climb over the back of the driver’s seat. I grabbed him by the hand but he was caught on something. The water started to gush into the car, I still had the boy’s hand but the car went under the water, nose first.
“I was struggling and had to let go. That was the last time I saw anyone else in the car. I had the baby in my hand and was trying to keep her above water, I swam the backstroke back to the car as this was the best way to keep the baby out of water.”“I was struggling and had to let go. That was the last time I saw anyone else in the car. I had the baby in my hand and was trying to keep her above water, I swam the backstroke back to the car as this was the best way to keep the baby out of water.”
After swimming back with the baby and handing the child to his girlfriend, Walsh lay on the slipway, which he said was slippery with algae. He was later given a gold medal for bravery at sea by the Irish state. The inquest continues on Thursday.
Earlier Francis Crawford, who first alerted the emergency services about the unfolding tragedy, said he too saw the pier from which the jeep slid off was slippery with algae.
He said he saw two adult bodies and a child’s body float to the surface of the water. Spotting the green algae, Crawford said: “As a local person, I knew not to drive down that far but someone who was unfamiliar with the area would not have known not to.”
His wife, Kay, told the inquest she too could hear screaming from the car.
In his opening remarks to the jury of five men and four women, the coroner Dr Denis McCauley said he and they had “an important solemn job to investigate the circumstances of a terrible tragedy”.
He revealed there were 69 depositions of evidence and 12 witnesses would be called to the inquest.
The hearing continues.