Coastal drive turned to tragedy for elderly couple, inquest hears

An elderly woman died in a crash after her husband suffered a “blackout” while they were out for a leisurely coastal drive, an inquest has heard.

Norman (80) and Jean (81) Hannagan had been married for more than 50 years and “barely spent a day apart”, Dublin Coroner’s Court heard.

The couple, from Glencarrig, Sutton, Dublin 13, were out for a drive on “a beautiful sunny day” on August 11th, 2014 when Mr Hannagan lost control of their Nissan car at about 3pm.

The car drifted to the wrong side of the road near the White Sands Hotel, Coast Road, Portmarnock and collided with an oncoming VW Polo.

Mrs Hannagan was taken to Beaumont Hospital but died on the operating table less than an hour later.

Her husband was treated for cracked ribs. He had no recollection of the crash.

“I remember it was a beautiful warm day. There was nothing unusual about the drive. The next thing I remember is being trapped in my car. I spoke to Jean and she said she couldn’t move. I remember seeing another car stuck into the front of my car,” Mr Hannagan said in his deposition.

Sgt Noel Smith of Malahide Garda station said road conditions were good and there was no evidence of speeding.

Mr Hannagan was being treated for heart disease and had undergone a quadruple bypass in 2006. His cardiologist was of the opinion Mr Hannagan suffered a cardiac arrhythymia - or blackout - when the accident happened, Sgt Smith told Coroner Dr Brian Farrell.

Mrs Hannagan died of multiple rib fractures and a laceration to the liver, according to Prof Patrick Roe, Consultant General Surgeon at Beaumont Hospital.

The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.