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Limerick Coroner’s Court heard that a teen who died in a quad accident wasn’t wearing a helmet and that a front tyre was over-inflated.
The boy’s death has prompted the Health and Safety Authority to bring in legislation later this year, in November, to make training and helmet-wearing on quads mandatory.
16-year-old Patrick McKeogh died on June 30, 2021, in University Hospital Limerick, from injuries sustained in a quad accident on the family farm two days earlier.
In a heartwrenching interjection to the inquest at Kilmallock Courthouse, Patrick’s father Martin said he didn’t want people to think Patrick was careless.
He said he had a helmet and always wore it, “this was the one day he didn’t wear it.”
Garda Donal Coughlan of Newport Garda Station told the court himself and Garda Pat Ryan, now retired, arrived on the scene at Inchadrinagh, Ballina, at 6.20am that morning on June 28, 2021.
Ambulance and fire personnel were already there and they could see a red quad 50 metres or so from where Patrick was lying.
On the day, Patrick’s father Martin, a man in his 50’s, had gone out to the farm very early and realised he hadn’t put a wire across to stop the cattle from escaping and could see some had strayed towards the road.
He then called his son Patrick’s mobile phone, his other son Adam answered and they both left the house to help to gather the stray cattle and redirect them back to the farm. Patrick took the quad, while Adam walked.
Once the cows were sorted, they fixed the wires for fresh grazing for the cows and then drove the jeep down the yard to find Patrick.
Patrick’s father Martin saw the quad and something on the ground, which he thought was a stray animal possibly a calf, lying down.
Patrick was lying on his back with his legs away from him and his head towards them.
“Patrick did not move, he was so still, I knelt next to him and called his name a few times,” Martin said.
He said he noticed a blue-purple colour on Patrick’s face and said to Adam “he’s gone, he’s gone.”
Martin performed CPR until the ambulance arrived.
The ambulance personnel managed to get a pulse and Patrick was transferred to University Hospital Limerick, where he died from his injuries on June 30.
PSV (Public Service Vehicle) Inspector Eamonn Raleigh told the court he examined the quad on the farm on June 20 and a further exam was done in Nenagh.
One of the main findings from the vehicle exam was that the offside front tyre was over-inflated and on test drive, he found it difficult to maintain control over uneven surfaces.
He found the seat was firmly fixed with no defects, there were no issues with the steering, the brakes were working well and there were no defects or leaks with the suspension.
Likewise, now retired Garda Sergeant and Forensic Collision Inspector Frank Lavin, found the tyre pressure was over the prescribed pressure recommended by the manufacturer.
Sergeant Lavin said; “The rider wasn’t wearing a helmet and I do not believe speed was a factor.”
In a reconstruction of the collision carried out by Sergeant Lavin in September 2021, he said he had to tighten his grip and pull hard to ‘remain on the quad’ adding that he has been driving quads for twenty years.
He said that in the absence of an eyewitness, they have to rely on information at the time and this collision reconstruction as best evidence for what may have happened.
“The over-inflated front tyre would have reduced the effectiveness of the suspension, it’s very easy to over-inflate the tyres,” he told the court.
“I believe the rider (Patrick) was bounced off (the quad) when he hit a bump.”
He added that there was no evidence of mechanical failure, the weather was not a factor in the collision.
Sergeant Lavin said that it’s difficult to identify one specific cause, saying someone who was just out of bed is less alert than someone who had been awake for a while.
“He was doing what he was doing and he may have been used to it, but he wasn’t as alert as he could have been,” Sergeant Lavin said.
Patrick’s brother and father left the courtroom while details of the post-mortem report were given.
No alcohol or drugs were detected in his system. The post-mortem found there were two fractures to Patrick’s skull and some damage to his brain.
The cause of death was determined as extensive cranial and cerebral damage due to a traumatic head injury.
A jury of three men and three women delivered a verdict of accidental death, noting the legislation coming later this year, which will make helmet-wearing and training for quads mandatory.
In his closing remarks, Coroner John McNamara said there was no fault here and that accidents happen.
He said, “On another day, he’d have hit that bump and carried on, I’m sure his family will never stop thinking about it, he wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary – it was a terrible tragic accident.”
Inspector Gary Thompson said, “It’s never easy to lose anyone, especially a young boy diligently working on the farm and doing the right thing.”
Sympathies were expressed to the McKeogh family on behalf of the Gardaí, the Coroner and the Health and Safety Authority.
Patrick was one of four children with two brothers Adam and Wayne and a sister Lauren.