Falcarragh woman died after suffering heart attack before car crash, inquest hears

A much-loved 86-year-old Falcarragh woman died after suffering a heart-attack before her car veered across a road and crashed into a wall, her inquest has found.

Veronica Keyna Barrett died following the tragic incident on April 23, 2024.

Mrs Barrett had been traveling home to Moyra Glebe, Falcarragh, having visited a friend.

The last moments of the pensioner's life were recalled at her inquest held by Donegal coroner Dr Denis McCauley at Letterkenny Courthouse.

Dr McCauley told the inquest that although nobody witnessed the crash on the N56 at Ballina, Falcarragh on the afternoon of April 23, a number of people heard the incident and many tried to come to Mrs Barrett's assistance.

The first on the scene was local man Stephen Doohan who said he initially heard a noise outside but thought it was a construction lorry.

He received a phone call a minute later to say someone had crashed into his front wall at his house.

He rushed to the scene and saw Mrs Barrett and began performing CPR before calling first responder Sean Boylan who arrived and began chest compressions on the victim.

A defibrillator was brought to the scene and Mr Boylan tried to shock Mrs Barrett three times, said Mr Doohan in his statement.

Mr Doohan said he then rang 999 and paramedics arrived a short time later and took over.

A statement on behalf of Garda Richard Quigley of Dungloe Garda Station said at 1.30pm he received a report of a silver Volkswagen Golf having crashed into the gate pillar of a house on the N56.

When he arrived he found an elderly woman being treated on the ground by paramedics.

She was identified as Mrs Veronica Barrett and he said nobody else was involved in the crash.

After ten minutes of Mrs Barrett being worked on by paramedics, a pulse was detected and she was airlifted to Letterkenny University Hospital.

Garda Quigley said he remained at the scene until 7.30pm that evening and word came through later that the woman involved had unfortunately passed away.

The late Mrs Barrett's son, John, also gave a statement of attending the scene of the accident and seeing paramedics working on his mother before she was brought to hospital.

Mr Barrett said he drove to Letterkenny University Hospital where he was brought into a room and told that his mother had passed away.

Mr Barrett said his mother was in good health and had been returning from visiting a friend in Dungloe when the accident happened.

Garda PSV Inspector Damian Mulkearn  told the inquest that Mrs Barrett's vehicle including its tyres were all in good condition, the vehicle had been well maintained and that the driver had been wearing a seatbelt at the time of the collision.

A statement from Garda Forensic Investigator Sergeant Gerard McCauley said he attended the scene and that from examinations, the car had veered gradually to the opposite side of the road and that there had been no sign of speed or acceleration.

He added that the car had hit a kerb and then hit a wall and rested at a 90 degree angle saying the rotation happened when Mrs Barrett's car struck the wall.

Dr Gerry O'Dowd, histopathologist at Letterkenny University Hospital, said as well as bruising to Mrs Barrett from a seatbelt injury, she suffered multiple rib fractures and a lower arm fraction.

However, he stressed these would not be uncommon in an elderly person who had encountered prolonged resuscitation attempts.

He added the injuries did not lead to Mrs Barrett's death but pointed to severe coronary disease and a history of high blood pressure as the cause.

Coroner Dr Denis McCauley said it was highly likely that she had encountered a cardiac event which led her to lose control of the vehicle and hit the wall.

He said that the cause of death was Acute Coronary Syndrome adding that Mrs Barrett died of natural causes while she was driving.

He added that from a Garda point of view, Mrs Barrett's death will not be recorded as a road traffic death but a natural death adding that she would have been unconscious at the time of the collision.

Finally, the coroner thanked all those who came to Mrs Barrett's aid and tried to save her life, describing their efforts as "valiant."