Driver caused ‘ferocious’ M50 crash leading to woman’s ‘instantaneous death’, court told

A man has gone on trial charged with dangerous driving causing the death of a woman on the M50 in Dublin more than four years ago.

Gerry Daly (57), of Derby Lodge, Brownstown, The Curragh, Kildare, pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to dangerous driving causing the death of Jacqueline Griffin (39) at junction five of the motorway on January 24th, 2019.

Garnet Orange SC, prosecuting, told the jury in his opening statement that Mr Daly entered onto the M50 by Cherrywood Business Park that morning. He said it was rainy and “driving conditions were a long way off optimal”.

Mr Orange said the jury would hear evidence from various witnesses that around the vicinity of the Blanchardstown exit on the M50 “aspects of Mr Daly’s driving caught people’s attention”.

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He said he anticipated there would be evidence that Mr Daly was at that point travelling at speed on the hard shoulder and weaving in and out of traffic. He then drove onto the slip road that leads to the Finglas/Ashbourne exit.

Counsel said it is the State’s case that Mr Daly’s driving along this stretch again involved driving at speed and weaving in and out of traffic.

He said Mr Daly was driving on the left-hand lane heading north towards Ashbourne when “at the very last moment he veered across, very narrowly avoiding a collision with a truck”.

“He got in front of the truck and collided with the car being driven by Ms Griffin, causing an enormous forceful collision,” Mr Orange said.

He said the “ferocious” crash caused Ms Griffin’s vehicle to roll over very quickly and that she sustained injuries which “led to her instantaneous death at the point”. Counsel said Ms Griffin was “doing nothing other than being compliant” with the rules of the road.

He said “notwithstanding the collision” Mr Daly travelled a further 200m along the road before his vehicle came to a stand still.

“There will be no issue in your mind but that the driving of this car constituted dangerous driving,” Mr Orange suggested to the jury. He added that jury should “have no difficulty concluding that the accident caused the death of Jacqueline Griffin.”

Counsel told the jury there will also be evidence that, at the time of the incident, Mr Daly was a type one diabetic and experiencing a related medical condition which affected his ability to drive and he was “not in a position to exercise control over the vehicle”.

The jury was shown CCTV footage from various cameras on the M50 and footage recorded by cameras on a recycling truck that was on the M50 that day.

A sales rep who was travelling to Finglas along the M50 said a car sped by on his left-hand side. He later noticed the same vehicle hit a maroon-coloured car which was then thrown onto its side. The man said the vehicle continued travelling at speed before it hit a second car and came to a stop shortly afterwards.

He got out of his vehicle after he checked to make sure all traffic had stopped. He headed towards a truck that had been stopped in front of him and noticed the driver climbing out of the cab.

The man said the truck driver was visibly shaking and holding his phone in his hand. He advised the witness to not look up towards the maroon-coloured car and asked him if he could call the emergency service because he was too shaken to do so.

A second motorist said he noticed a dark-coloured car coming up on the hard shoulder and estimated that it was travelling at about 150 km/h. He then saw the same car cutting across the traffic and later saw the truck stopped and a dark-coloured car on its side.

He said the vehicle was travelling so fast he thought “it was the gardaí or the driver was being chased by the gardaí”.

A taxi driver told the jury he was driving directly behind the truck on the M50 that day when he spotted a dark-coloured car on his left.

“The speed was crazy, really excessive,” the witness said, adding that the car passed him and veered to the right in front of him, forcing him to brake.

The taxi driver said he saw the same car crash into a dark-coloured car, forcing it into a barrier and causing the vehicle to flip before the other driver continued on.

Each of these motorists agreed with Roderick O’Hanlon SC, defending, that “it appeared” that the speeding car was not responding to the road conditions on the day.

The trial continues before Judge Elma Sheahan and a jury.