Midlands Man Killed On M4 Was Over Eight Times Above Drink Driving Limit

The 49-year-old taxi driver suffered fatal injuries in the crash on the westbound carriageway of the M4 on March 13th, 2024.

A midlands man killed in a collision on the M4 near Kilcock, Co Kildare two years ago was over eight times above the legal drink driving limit, an inquest has heard.

49-year-old taxi driver Aidan O’Brien from Ballynanum, Edenderry, Co Offaly suffered fatal injuries in the crash on the westbound carriageway of the M4 just near Junction 8 shortly before midnight on March 13, 2024.

A sitting of Kildare Coroner’s Court heard the white 151-D reg Toyota Prius being driven by Mr O’Brien crashed into a motorway barrier between the off-ramp for Kilcock and the hard shoulder at 11.26pm.

It resulted in the vehicle coming to a stop in the overtaking lane of the motorway before it was struck from behind by a Volkswagen Caddy van around eight minutes later.

The crash pushed the deceased’s taxi onto the grass verge in the median of the M4, while the other vehicle came to a stop on the inside lane of the motorway.

A forensic collision investigator, Garda John Coughlan, said the road surface at the time of the incident was wet and it was raining with some motorists reporting reduced visibility.

The inquest heard contradictory evidence from two witnesses as to whether there were rear lights visible on the taxi while it was stopped on the motorway.

However, Garda Coughlan said it was not possible to check if the lights had been working due to the extent of the damage to the Toyota Prius.

A public service vehicle inspector, Garda James Keating, told the hearing that although his examination of the taxi was considerably hampered by the extensive damage caused to the vehicle, he did not think anything contributed to the accident “other than driver error.”

However, Garda Keating said there was an anomaly with the front tyre on the passenger side of the vehicle as it had slightly shorter height and sidewall measurements.

The inspector said the mismatch of tyres could cause serious instability to the vehicle which might be considered dangerously defective under Section 54 of the Road Traffic Act 1961.

In reply to questions from the coroner, Loretta Nolan, the witness agreed that the vehicle would be unlikely to pass a NCT test in such a condition.

However, Garda Keating accepted that the smaller tyre could be considered a “reasonable temporary measure” which might have been fitted in error.

He also found no mechanical defects with the 211-KK reg Volkswagen Caddy which also suffered significant damage to the front of the vehicle.

The inquest heard that driver of the van, Thomas Murray, provided breath and saliva samples to gardaí which tested negative for alcohol and drugs.

In a statement, Garda Laura Fingleton said Mr Murray was in shock but otherwise suffered no physical injuries.

In evidence, Mr Murray said he was driving in the overtaking lane of the M4 while returning from an Irish Farmers’ Association meeting to his home in Clonard, Co Meath.

He described how a car in front of him swerved into the other lane but he was unable to avoid crashing into another vehicle that appeared to be stopped on the motorway.

Mr Murray said his van came to a stop on the inside lane and he ran behind a barrier until he realised he had left his phone in the vehicle.

He said he went to check on the driver of the Toyota Prius who appeared unresponsive.

However, Mr Murray said he was shaking too much to be able to check the other motorist’s pulse.

As vehicles were still passing the scene at speed, he said he went back behind the barrier until the emergency services arrived.

Garda Mark Connolly said Mr O’Brien was unresponsive and showed no sign of life with blood coming from the top of his head, while he was also “mechanically trapped” in the vehicle.

The inquest heard a doctor formally pronounced the taxi driver dead at the scene of the collision at 1.10am on March 14, 2024.

Garda Connolly outlined how he also recovered two mobile phones and a bottle of Jägermeister from the vehicle.

Another motorist, David Leonard, who was driving home to Sligo from Dublin Airport, said he had his cruise control speed set at 120km/h when he noticed a car ahead of him in the overtaking lane near the exit for Kilcock.

Mr Leonard said he initially thought the vehicle was moving slowly and expected it would move into the left lane as he approached it from behind.

However, he quickly noticed when he was “nearly on top of the car” that it was stationary, almost as if it was “neatly parked.”

Mr Leonard said he immediately took evasive action by swinging into the left lane.

As he passed the Toyota Prius, he recalled seeing a male in the driver’s seat.

Mr Leonard said he saw another car in the overtaking lane a few seconds behind him who did not swerve and crashed into the taxi.

The witness said he did not stop his vehicle as he felt it was unsafe to do so but contacted gardaí later after reading about the incident on the RTÉ News app.

Another driver, Patrick Kelly, who came on the scene, described how he parked his vehicle on the hard shoulder and turned on his hazard lights before going back up the motorway to check on both drivers and to alert the emergency services.

Mr Kelly said he knew immediately the driver of the Toyota Prius was dead.

He said he also tried to alert other motorists to the accident as “someone else was going to get killed” because they would not see the collision until they were “right on top of it.”

Relatives of Mr O’Brien thanked the witness for his actions and observed that he had probably saved other lives that night.

The deceased’s sister, Martina O’Brien, gave evidence of formally identifying her brother’s body to gardaí.

Dr Nolan said the results of a postmortem showed a blood alcohol concentration of 406mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. The legal limit for fully licensed motorists is 50mg.

The coroner said it was one of the highest readings she had seen in recent years.

At that level of alcohol, Dr Nolan said Mr O’Brien was at risk of losing consciousness and dying from the effect of alcohol on its own.

She said a toxicology test on the deceased’s urine had provided an even higher reading.

The coroner attributed the cause of death to multiple traumatic injuries due to a road traffic collision as a result of acute ethanol intoxication.

Returning a verdict of death by misadventure, Dr Nolan said it was possible that Mr O’Brien was already unconscious at the time of both impacts with his vehicle.

The coroner offered her condolences to the driver’s family and noted it was “a very difficult way to lose a life.”