Rally driver died after car veered off track and into water

Olivia Kelleher

The family of a young man who died when the car he was driving veered off a track at a forest rally and overturned into a flooded stream have thanked the navigator of the vehicle for his repeated attempts to save the life of their loved one.

An inquest at Cork Coroner’s Court heard that co-driver and navigator, Daniel O’Brien, made several bids to free a trapped Eoin McCarthy from the Honda Civic car in the wake of the accident at the Killarney Forestry Rally on February 20th, 2022.

O'Brien told the inquest that he had struggled to assist Eoin as “the water was brown like oxtail soup….you could not see your hand in front of your face.”

The accident occurred at Stage 4 of the rally as the car drove towards a narrow bridge with no railings.

Barrister Derek Ryan, BL, represented the family of the deceased at the inquest.

He extended his heartfelt thanks to O’Brien on behalf of the McCarthy family for his assistance to their son on the day.

O’Brien told the inquest that McCarthy (22) was driving at a speed of just 15km/h when the accident occurred.

He said that the Honda Civic car was driving between bales when its left wheel slid off the track. It tipped forward and then slowly overturned into the flooded water below.

He said that he and McCarthy had planned to take part in the rally championships together with Killarney being their first event together.

O’Brien said that he was “completely submerged” in the water at one stage. He stated that didn’t even feel the cold because he was in so much shock.

He indicated that he had called out a “double caution” warning as they approached the narrow bridge.

The front left wheel of the Honda Civic left the road, tipped forward and “flipped over very slowly.”

The navigator said that he was able to free himself from the safety harness. He tried to open Eoin’s harness.

“ I tried to pull him underwater. I tried to get a better lifting position. Eoin was stuck. His mouth and nose were submerged below the water.”

McCarthy was pulled free from the car by means of a rope. His navigator carried out CPR in a bid to save his life. He said that at one stage the driver coughed in a “raspy” manner.

“He gave a rattle cough. I tried to clear his airway. He took two breaths. I didn’t see him breathe again.”

Paramedics who arrived at the scene put McCarthy on a gurney on the river bank and continued to try to save his life.

O’Brien said that he had no recollection of setting off an SOS toggle alert in the car, which went off on the day.

Both men had been suspended in harnesses upside down when the vehicle entered the water.

O’Brien said that it felt like they were waiting for an ambulance for “a long time.”

He said the ambulance he was put in tipped over onto its side and he ended up making the journey to hospital in a Land Cruiser. The driver of the car was taken to Cork University Hospital (CUH) for treatment.

O'Brien said he thought it was "shocking" that while he was transferred to hospital in Tralee for treatment for minor injuries and shock his family were included that he was in CUH.

He said that communication with Motorsport Ireland was “slim” following the accident.

Meanwhile, O’Brien said that he and McCarthy had carried out all the necessary safety checks on the Honda Civic to make sure it was roadworthy prior to the event.

They watched a DVD of the stages of the rally twice to familiarise themselves with potential hazards. Case notes were also read.

The young men went through the required scrutiny of their car and safety harness on the day. All of their paperwork was filled out correctly.

A safety tracking device was also fitted in the vehicle.

The inquest also heard evidence from Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster who carried out the postmortem on the deceased.

She said that McCarthy died of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (a global brain injury) due to an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest after he was submerged in water in a suspended state.

There was no evidence of significant trauma to the body.

McCarthy sustained minor grazes or abrasions to his forehead. She said that death would have occurred rapidly. She added that the young man would have lapsed into unconsciousness and not suffered in any way.

Evidence was also given by a marshal at the rally who said that as he drove to the event on he didn’t think there was a “hope in hell’ of it proceeding, arising out of heavy rain and stormy conditions.

Mark Dolphin, who also competes in rally events, said it was his opinion that the rally should have not taken place because of the poor weather conditions.

He said that he expressed concern about falling trees on the day but was told that the event would proceed as trees had not fallen on to the rally course.

He said that there was no mobile phone receptions in the woods that afternoon.

Derek Cummins, a senior official with Motorsport Ireland who was at the event in the capacity of a spectator, said that two men went to the assistance of a trapped McCarthy in the water.

He took it upon himself to raise a flag to stop people who were following in cars behind the pair. The inquest will continue on Tuesday.