Inquest told US cyclist lost her life in fall at Gap of Dunloe

A severe downhill bend, where an American cyclist lost her life in the popular Gap of Dunloe tourist road in Co Kerry, had no warning signs or markings to alert cyclists, a Garda expert has told an inquest. The coroner and the jury have recommended warning signs should be erected by Kerry County Council..

Janet Price (69), of Washington, US, died from severe blunt force trauma to the chest, according to a report from pathologist Dr Margot Bolster, read out by South and East Kerry coroner Aisling Quilter.

Ms Price suffered multiple fractures and lacerations to her organs due to a fall from a bicycle at the Gap of Dunloe on May 30th, 2017.

She was on her way down the gap route ahead of her husband, Don Theiler, at around 3pm, and was lying face down close to the front wheel of a sheep trailer full of lambs which was being towed by a four-wheel-drive vehicle, Mr Theiler said in his deposition.

The driver of the vehicle, Donncha Tagney, was not at the inquest, but in a deposition read by Supt Flor Murphy he said he was on his way up the gap into the Black Valley and he observed a lady cyclist ahead of him, and she was out of control .“I knew at the speed she was going she had no control. I stopped...There was no impact with my trailer.”

A second witness deposition said they saw a lady thrown from a bicycle and she did not hit the trailer.

Wheels of the trailer

Another witness walking in the area said the cyclist seemed to be between the wheels of the trailer and the back of the vehicle.

Garda forensic collision investigator Raymond Sweeney said the bend was quite severe. It was a 140 degrees “almost coming back on yourself”. The road actually fell as you went round the bend, and this was not the norm. “I did not note any warning signs or marking on approach to the severe bend.”

Co-incidentally, the next day when making a video recording of the scene he observed another cyclist, this time an experienced mountain biker “miscalculate” and fail to take the bend and skid across the road to the wrong side.

He also said the four-wheel-drive vehicle, which was on its way up to the Back Valley, would have been going “dead slow” in order to take the bend.

Mr Theiler, who was too upset to attend the proceedings, in a deposition read to the court, said he and his late wife and a friend were not experienced bikers and the road was busier than they expected.

Accidental death

The jury returned a verdict of accidental death, and with the coroner recommended that signs should be erected on the roadway for all road-users.

In a statement on Thursday evening, Kerry County Council, which is in charge of the road through the Gap of Dunloe, said it would consider the recommendations.

After the inquest, Ms Price’s daughter Erika, who travelled to Ireland with her sister Jennifer, said she believed her late mother and stepfather would not have undertaken the scenic cycle through the gap if they had known the dangers.

“I think if they had been warned that it was not for beginner cyclists they might not have gone,” Ms Price said. “People should know what they are getting into. But ultimately we are all individuals, and we are all responsible for what we put ourselves into.”

Ms Price also said there was an onus on tourist interests in Killarney to inform people about the dangers of the route.