Inquest hears animal crossing may have led to tragic deaths of Donegal teenagers

An inquest into the deaths of two teenage friends in Donegal has heard how the tragedy could have been caused by an animal crossing the road.

The two teenage friends, both aged 18, were killed when the car in which they were travelling lost control and ended up in a wooded area in Terrawee, Gleneely, at approximately 12.45am on November 6, 2023.

The families of Alana Harkin and Thomas Gallagher, both 18, gather at Buncrana Courthouse today for the heartbreaking double-inquest, which heard the tragic last moments of the cherished teenagers.

The inquest heard that speed, alcohol or the condition of the Seat Ibiza car being driven by Ms Harkin were not considered factors in the fatal crash. Both those who died in the tragedy were friends and were from Gleneely.

Alana had finished her Leaving Certificate the previous summer, while Thomas was in his Leaving Certificate year. The inquest heard how there had originally been five people in the car, which had crashed.

All five had been in Simpson's Bar and restaurant in Carndonagh and were going home. The driver, Ms Harkin, had been working in Simpsons and had volunteered to give her four friends a lift home to various places.

Witness Patrick McKinney, who had also been working in Simpson's earlier, told the inquest how they left the bar at 12.15am.

A woman sat in the front seat alongside Ms Harkin and three other young men, including Mr McKinney, sat in the back seats.

Mr McKinney told the inquest how he remembered nothing about the crash. He said he had been asleep in the car and then he remembers knocking on a woman's door looking for help.

He then said he remembered being on a main road, talking to people and waiting for an ambulance. Mr McKinney, the sole survivor of the crash, was taken to Letterkenny University Hospital, where he was treated for broken bones, fractured ribs and a bruised lung and had to be put in a back brace for six months.

The inquest also heard from local man Brian McGonagle, who was first on the scene of the crash. He told how he had been alerted by a phonecall from a neighbour whose door had been banged on and she thought it was an intruder.

He received another phonecall to say there had been a crash locally and he went to help. When he arrived he flagged down another car with three young women and told them he thought there had been a crash.

One of the young women then saw the car and Mr McGonagle ran to the car and found Ms Harkin in the driver's seat, whom he knew as his daughter had been best friends with her in school.

He said her face was covered in blood, but he managed to get her out of the car and began CPR on her, which lasted for about 20 minutes but there was no sign of life.

He went back to the car but could not see anyone but when he flashed his torch in he found another person lying in the back seat.

The young man, who turned out to be Thomas Gallagher, was taken out of the car and CPR was also commenced on the young man.

Gardai and other emergency services arrived on the scene but despite the best efforts of all present, both Alana and Thomas were pronounced dead at the scene.

Solicitor for the Harkin family, Mr Pat McMyler, asked Mr McGonagle if he was aware there had been a lot of deer in the area and this may have caused Ms Harkin to swerve and he agreed.

Mr McGonagle said he had personally seen a lot of deer on the road, which and come down from the hills nearby.

Detective Sergeant Killian Callaghan gave evidence of being on duty and told of the area being sealed off before he identified the bodies to Garda Elaine Kavanagh at 4.39am who arranged for the deceased to be taken to the mortuary in Letterkenny.

Evidence read out on behalf of pathologist Gerry O'Dowd said there had been some injuries to Alana's chest area but the most significant injury was a fracture of her skull and a brain injury, which would not have been compatible with recovery.

He also found that there was a very low level of alcohol in her system and there were no drugs found in her system.

Dr O'Dowd also carried out a post mortem on Thomas Gallagher and this showed he had some injuries but that the primary injury was to the left template bone of his skull which caused a fracture and significant brain injuries.

Coroner Dr Denis McCauley addressed a concern by the Gallagher family, querying if anything could have been done for their son if he had been found earlier.

However, Dr McCauley said resuscitation would not have been possible and that Thomas died instantly as a result of the brain injury caused.

Garda Public Service Vehicle Inspector, Damian Mulkearns, told the inquest that he had examined the white Seat Ibiza involved in the tragedy.

Having examined all aspects of the vehicle, including brakes, tyres and steering, he said he was satisfied that the vehicle was in a serviceable pre-accident condition.

He said the driver's seatbelt had shown signs that it was in the clicked position and showed signs that it was worn on impact, but he could not say if the back seatbelts were worn or not, but were in the resting position.

Garda Forensic Collision Investigator Declan O'Connor said that on the night in question, it had been wet and dark, there had been no street lighting and that the road on which the crash occurred was governed by an 80kph speed limit.

He said the car had lost control and gone into a weaving pattern, was under-braking before hitting a road sign, striking a verge, becoming airborne, crossing over a small river and hitting a tree before coming to a rest in an upright position.

Garda O'Connor added that there was massive damage to the roof and the driver's side of the vehicle.

He added he was unable to establish an exact driving speed but that as the car left the bank, it was travelling at a speed of 70kph.

Solicitor Mr McMyler put it to Garda O'Connor that there was nothing to indicate excessive speed and this was agreed.

Mr McMyler also put it to the Garda that the presence of an animal could not be ruled out as 'something' had caused Ms Harkin to lose control of the car and this was also agreed.

Coroner Dr McCauley also described the road as "relatively straight", saying he knew it, having cycled it many times.

He added that it was unclear why the car left the road and that her family have the view that there may have been an animal on the road.

Station officer at Moville Fire Station, Maurice Harkin, also told of attending the scene and overseeing diversion signs and lighting at the scene.

He said he liaised with other fire officers at the scene and witnessed two bodies already covered by blankets at the scene.

He remained with other officers at the scene and assisted before leaving at 5.14am.

In his findings, Dr McCauley said he agreed the cause of death in both cases was a severe head injury consistent with involvement in a road traffic incident.

The verdict returned in both cases was accidental death.

Coroner Dr McCauley thanked all those who helped at the scene, describing the loss of both Alana and Thomas as a tragedy and offered his condolences to both families along with Garda Sergeant Jim Collins. Both families hugged eachother as they left the courtroom.