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The coroner who conducted the inquest into the death of young rally driver Eoin McCarthy has recommended that landing sites for air ambulances be agreed in advance for such events. This is one of 16 recommendations made following the conclusion of the inquest, which found that McCarthy died after his car flipped into a flooded stream during the Killarney Forestry Rally in Co Kerry in February 2022.
A coroner who earlier this month conducted the inquest into the death of a young rally driver has recommended that landing site s for air ambulance s be agreed in advance for such events.
That was among the 16 recommendations made following the conclusion of the inquest into the death of Eoin McCarthy , whose car flipped over into a flooded stream during the Killarney Forestry Rally in Co Kerry on February 20th, 2022. McCarthy, of Dunmanway in Co Cork, died after his car slid off the track at an unrailed bridge in Castleisland. He was trapped underwater in the car for about five minutes.
The rally took place amid heavy rain and wind two days after a status red weather warning. One rescuer had to run up the road to gain phone reception as there was no mobile coverage at the crash site. The first SOS alert was received in the rally control room at 2.06pm on the day in question, sent from the car driven by McCarthy.
The Swiss politician and the alleged drugging and sexual abuse of an Irish girl and her motherOther drivers who came upon the crash then hit their alert buttons. However, it took five minutes from when the first SOS was received to when emergency services were deployed. Motorsport Ireland had not assigned a designated area in which the air ambulance should land in the event of an emergency at the rally.
When the incident happened the air ambulance initially went to Mountcollins in Co Limerick but was unable to land. The landing site was then changed to Brosna, Co Kerry. The air ambulance ultimately landed in an area close to the crash site. A witness who had been volunteering for MSI told the inquest that when they arrived at Mountcollins with the casualty in an ambulance, they were informed that the helicopter had landed in a different location.
The change had not been communicated to them. He has now recommended that sites for air ambulances be agreed in advance with the service supplier and that this be included in all rally safety statements. He also recommended that there be a “clear protocol or written guideline setting out the role and duties of all those involved in the organisation and running of a rally, whether it be a forest rally or a rally on tarmac”.
Another recommendation is that the finalised safety statement should be furnished to all officials involved in the organisation and running of a rally. The statement is to specifically record all rally stage locations where there is no mobile phone coverage and the steps taken to ameliorate this.
Other recommendations include recording locations of particular concern and steps taken to lessen risks; a clear defining of roles in the chain of command in the control room; a clear policy on who takes over an investigation in the event of a serious incident; and the appointment of a family liaison officer. Other recommendations relate to training and making clubs aware of financial and psychological supports following a serious incident.
A number of submissions were made at the inquest by barrister Derek Ryan, representing the McCarthy family. He said that “foreseeable risks” had not been identified by MSI before the rally. Barrister Beibhinn Murphy, representing MSI, said a number of the recommendations suggested by Ryan had already been implemented. She also gave an account of significant advances in tracking since the tragedy.
McCarthy died of a global brain injury due to an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest after he was submerged in water in a suspended state. A verdict of accidental death was recorded. Man charged with drugs and money laundering offences at Galway escape roomMOST READUefa to bring criminal complaint against Gianni Infantino over failed World Cup sale plan
Rally Death Landing Site Air Ambulance Coroner