A strip of the N26 in County Mayo, which was the site of a fatal accident that claimed the lives of a mother and daughter last month, was condemned as “inadequate for contemporary traffic” by a coroner on Monday. The remark was made by Patrick O’Connor, the coroner for Mayo, during the initial stages of the inquest into the tragic deaths of 46-year-old Aisling Moore and her eight-year-old daughter, Abbigael Moore-Tournié. The tragic incident happened on the 2nd of July when the vehicle they were in hit a large commercial vehicle at Callow, situated between Foxford and Swinford.
Aisling’s father and Abbigael’s grandfather, Eamon Moore, as well as Aisling’s sister, Anita, were present at the preliminary hearing. The coroner communicated to the family his belief that the stretch of road where the accident happened is a safety concern, echoing their concerns. He added, “The local authority and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) must take steps to address the safety of this strip of the N26.”
The cause of death for Aisling was found to be severe injuries, including to the head, according to a pathologist. Abbigael’s cause of death, according to pathologist Dr Tamas Nemeth, was severe head injuries that were a result of the vehicular collision.
Mr O’Connor advised the family that a comprehensive investigation would be time-consuming. However, he had begun the inquest so that an official death certificate could be provided. He clarified, “The investigation by Garda will be in-depth and protracted,” and then he postponed the in-depth inquest hearing, pending the Garda inquiry’s findings.
Afterwards, Mr O’Connor and Sgt Ronan Drury together expressed their gratitude to the Gardaí, first-responders, and ordinary citizens who were present at the scene of the accident.