Heartbroken parents of Laois teenager warn racing quad bikes are "lethal weapons" at inquest

The heartbroken parents of a teenage boy who died in a crash described racing quad bikes as “lethal weapons” in the hands of children. 

Carmel and James Brown’s 15 year-old son David died when a racing quad bike driven by his cousin and friend John (Johnny) Phelan went out of control and crashed at Ballyshaneduff, Ballybrittas on Sunday, April 9, 2023. 

Laois Coroner Eugene O’Connor is drawing up recommendations for the Road Safety Authority (RSA) and Health and Safety Authority (HSA) on racing quad bike use following David’s inquest in the Coroners Court in Portlaoise on Thursday, November 28.

“David will live in our hearts each day. He blessed our lives immeasurably. He never leaves our minds. We can do nothing only say how much we love him and miss him every day,” David’s parents said in a statement at the inquest. 

The inquest was told the 400cc Suzuki quad bike had been found in woodland and its ownership was transferred to Colette Phelan who had acquired it from gardai in a police property application in the district court in September 2022.

John Phelan Snr said David had stayed at his house on Saturday night, something he did quite often. He and his wife Colette were going to Kinsale in Cork on Sunday and they were in Cashel when they received a call at around 1.30pm stating that Johnny and David were in an accident. 

Cathal McGreal BL asked who had the use of the quad bike. He was informed that anyone who wanted it could use it but mostly it was used by John jnr. Mr Phelan said his son and his friends used it in a nearby field but that the field had been ploughed so they couldn’t use it there on that day. 

Mr Phelan said his son had informed him that he was going to the woods on Sunday with their uncle Ciaran Moloney.  “Ciaran was to take them out that evening. That was my understanding,” Mr Phelan said. 

“If I had known they were there on their own, they wouldn't have been there,” he said. 

Mr McGreal described the racing quad as a teenage boy’s dream. He asked Mr Phelan if he had seen the sticker warning against use by under 16s, riding with a pillion passenger and advising to wear safety equipment. Mr Phelan said he hadn’t noticed the sticker. He also denied knowing Ciaran wouldn’t be supervising the boys that day. 

“Do you think you were being careful enough?” asked Mr McGreal. 

“I know now I wasn’t,” Mr Phelan responded. 

Colette Phelan said she would always have warned her son about the dangers. She too said she hadn’t been aware of the warning stickers on the quad. 

“Myself and John were always telling Johnny when he was out to be careful and go slow,” she said. She said she didn’t know where the key to the quad was kept. Mr McGreal likened the key and the quad to separating “ammunition and a rifle”.

Ciaran Moloney said he arrived at the scene of the crash at 1.45pm and saw John jnr doing CPR on David. He took over CPR. “I noticed that he was warm to the touch. He was pale and unresponsive,” he said.  He too said he hadn’t noticed the warning sticker on the quad. 

He said in hindsight he now would have advised his sister Colette to get rid of the quad. When asked who was responsible, he said, “I would say it is a bit of everybody’s fault in hindsight.” 

Mr McGreal asked him if he appreciated that racing quads are lethal. “In the wrong hands you mention. Would it be fair to say the wrong hands were the two boys?” he asked. Mr Moloney agreed it would. 

Inspector Patrick Guinan read the deposition of John Phelan Jnr, who was driving the quad with David on the back when it left a road and crashed into a tree. John, who was 16 at the time, said it was his first quad but he had driven dirt bikes before. 

“I just remember the corner was kind of long and going off it,” he told the inquest.  

He said he had told his parents that his uncle would be with them in the forestry that day. He also said he had two videos taken on the day before the crash which showed him doing ramps in the forestry. 

Although there was no speedometer on the quad, Mr Phelan said he had never driven it at top speed and David hadn’t driven over ramps. He said both he and David were wearing helmets and gloves when the collision occurred. 

Garda Forensic Collision Investigator, John Walsh examined the scene and found freshly disturbed gravel on the forestry road and damage to the bark of a tree. He concluded that the quad had “left the forestry road on a left hand bend and collided with a tree” and he estimated that the bike was travelling at almost 45km per hour. He said the quad had no differential meaning turning would be more difficult than a quad with a differential.

Inspector Guinan said he was made aware of the collision involving two juvenile males at 1.35pm and he travelled to the scene. “I observed a quad bike that was off the road at a slight remove from a tree,” he said. 

Garda Sgt Michael O’Connell said he met John Phelan Jnr at the scene. “A youth I now know is David Brown was lying on the ground,” he said.  He said ambulance personnel were there and David and Carmel Brown had arrived at the scene. 

Garda Ronan Fitzsimons also attended the scene having received a call about a 15 year-old in cardiac arrest following a quad accident at about 2pm. He observed the paramedics and the air ambulance at the scene when he arrived. 

Garda Fitzsimons said he assisted in carrying David to an ambulance. He said Monsignor John Byrne arrived and gave the last rights to David. 

The Coroner said he would take the autopsy report as read. He said there was a rupture of the thoracic aorta and his injuries rendered “immediate unconsciousness” and the inquest was told helmets were no protection against such an injury. 

In her deposition, Elaine Preston, who had been working in a filling station in Ballybrittas, recalled a quad pulling into the filling station on the morning of the crash. “The two boys were laughing and joking,” she recalled. 

She said David Brown held the door for an elderly gentleman and “wished me a happy easter”. She described him as “very polite, friendly” and said he smiled as he left the shop. “It looked like they were going to go down the road beside the Final Furlong Pub,” she said. 

David’s uncle Justin Brown read a statement on behalf of Carmel and James. He said the inquest marked just one of so many sad days for his parents. 

“We come here today with shattered hearts. But even in these dark moments we have been aided in our journey through grief by the wonderful thoughts, prayers and wishes given to us by so many friends, family, the Community of Portlaoise and indeed in many cases complete strangers,” they said. 

“When Judge Cody said he didn’t want to read about this in the future little did we know we would be reading about it – and it would be about our beloved David’s tragic accident. We are also thinking today of David’s cousin and friend Johnny. We know it has been difficult for him too,” they said.

“David left our home with a PlayStation in his bag on the Saturday. That was our last image of him. The next time we saw him he was lying motionless in the back of an ambulance. We live with the consequences of these events. Our life has become dark but we really have to be strong for Conor and Sarah. We feel so powerless over their grief. They have lost their brother and we cannot take away that pain.”

“He was bright and always had a curious mind with a big smile on his face. He was always happy and carefree, never in a hurry always going at his own pace. We hate that we won’t see David going to his Debs, getting married. All the birthdays and occasions we will never get to share because of this accident. There is such a void in our house. We are barely existing from day to day,” they said.  

“David died as the result of a tragic accident involving a racing quad bike. These are not toys, they are potentially and in our case sadly literally lethal weapons especially in the hands of young people. If we don’t accept that responsibility there will be more David’s, more families who will have to endure the terrible, life changing and endless loss we feel today and every day,” they stated. 

Coroner Eugene O’Connor spoke about making recommendations to the RSA and he said the HSA had published material about quads but it related to quads used in a work setting. 

“They don’t particularly address what you would call racing or sports quads,” he said. 

Mr O’Connor said trying to have recommendations with meaningful impact won’t be easy and he likened it to safety measures around the use of a shotgun. 

Mr McGreal said he had anticipated this and had identified areas which might help. He suggested mandatory general use training, quad bike registration, a speedometer, speed limiters,  some technical or regulatory way of preventing two people from riding a single seat quad and parental responsibility guidelines. 

Mr O’Connor said he would draft some recommendations and send them to the family solicitor for consideration before issuing them. He said David Brown had died as a result of injuries sustained in a single vehicle quad bike collision and he recorded a verdict of death by misadventure.