Cyclist fell into oncoming traffic in ‘split second tragedy’, inquest hears

A cyclist who fell onto the road as he dismounted his bicycle was fatally struck by a passing taxi in Dublin city centre, an inquest has heard.

Paul Hannon, a solicitor from Castleknock who worked at the Central Bank, may have stopped to fix his bike chain, Dublin Coroner's Court was told.

The 40-year-old died after sustaining chest injuries in what the coroner Dr Corona Mulligan described as a tragedy that was down to "split second timing".

“He is a tremendous loss,” Mr Hannon’s brother Phillip said. “He left his mark on this city, country and on this planet. We as a family are very grateful for the consideration of the jury and to all those who have supported us over the last 18 months.”

The accident happened at 1am on March 24th, 2017 at the junction of Bull Alley and Patrick Street near Christchurch Cathedral as Mr Hannon cycled home after organising a surprise party for a colleague.

CCTV footage on Bull Alley captured his last movements and showed he reached the central median on Patrick Street and stopped to dismount before falling backwards.

Derailed

Garda Edward Davin, a public service vehicle inspector, examined the bicycle and found it was not damaged in the incident but the chain was derailed.

“Mr Hannon lost his balance as he was dismounting his bicycle and fell out into the line of traffic. There was nothing he could do to stop his fall,” he said.

Mr Hannon was struck by a passing taxi fractions of a second later.

"I didn't see where this person came from...I passed the traffic lights. I heard a bang," said taxi driver Anthony Olagide. His passengers were doctors and attempted to assist Mr Hannon.

A postmortem gave the cause of death as hypovolemic shock (blood loss) due to extensive lung injuries due to a collision with a car. Dr Gallagher noted that he had the equivalent of four units of alcohol in his system.

Gardaí investigated the incident and sent a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) but no charges were brought.

The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.

“It was down to split second timing and I can only imagine how difficult this has been for the family,” Dr Gallagher said.