INQUEST: Offaly teenage tractor driver's death was accidental

A VERDICT of accidental death has been returned in the inquest relating to an Offaly teenager who died in a tractor accident.

Offaly County Coroner's Court heard that 15-year-old Shane Hickey, Clonmore, Edenderry, was found in a drain at Ballycastle Bog 5.5km from his home on the night of May 5, 2022.

He had gone out that evening in his grandfather's tractor to where turf was being cut and when he did not return his parents went to look for him.

His mother Paula's evidence was she had a bad feeling when she saw the tractor without its engine running and its doors closed.

She asked her husband Richard to call a neighbour who had a digger to pull the tractor away and then she recognised her son from clothing.

When the tractor was moved off Shane he was practically standing up against the bank of the drain. They brought Shane up out of the drain and began CPR and though it was continued by paramedics the teenager could not be revived.

Ms Hickey said Shane had been the life and soul of the house and was loved by everyone. She couldn't put into words the kind, wonderful person he was and said he was a person who achieved so much in 15 years, becoming a fabulous sportsman who won numerous awards.

She said he never caused the family one minute's trouble and loved sports and farming.

Richard Hickey told the inquest that at about 8.30pm that evening Shane said he was going to the bog and when he did not reply to a phone call and a message to come home he went to the bog to look for him.

He noticed that the tractor was in the drain at a slant with one side lying against the bank and though he looked all around and underneath he could not see Shane.

After ringing to get the digger he drove up the road and was gone about two minutes when got a call to come back because Shane had been found.

Replying to coroner Ray Mahon, Mr Hickey said that though Shane was an experienced tractor driver he had told him not to take the tractor and that it was low in fuel.

However he agreed that his son was knowledgeable about tractors and it would not have been a particular worry for him.

Edward McKeon said he and his brother were the owners of the tractor and he had left it at the house of his daughter Paula on April 30 but he had not given anyone permission to drive it.

On May 5 he got a call from Paula saying Shane was not answering his phone so he went to the bog.

He said that when the tractor was pulled off Shane he caught him and he felt immediately that he was gone.

The inquest was told by Nick Groome, driver of the digger, that he pulled the tractor out with a chain after arriving at 11.15pm and his son Daniel began CPR on Shane.

An examination of the scene and the tractor was carried out by Garda John Walsh, a forensic collision investigator, and he said there was no evidence of anyone else being on the tractor or any other vehicle on the road, which was a forest track 2.6 metres wide with 2-metre drain beside it.

The weather on the evening was clear and visibility was good and the tractor had been correctly aligned on the road facing in the direction of the driver's home. There were also matching tyre tracks going the other direction.

The speed the tractor had been travelling at could not be established but the gear was set at four, which in low gear would allow a speed of between four and eight kilometres per hour, and in high would reach between 14 and 28 kilometres per hour.

Garda Walsh said that though there were marks from a tree trunk on the tractor, the reason it left the road and descended into the drain was unknown. There was no evidence of braking or skidding and it would be possible to go off the verge because of a lapse in concentration.

Questioned by Mr Mahon, Garda Walsh said the doors of the tractor could not have opened by themselves during the incident.

Dr Miriam Walsh, pathologist, carried out a post mortem at the mortuary in Tullamore Hospital on May 6 and found that the teenager's sternum had been fractured, as had a number of ribs.

No alcohol or drugs were detected and she concluded that death was due to chest trauma secondary to a road traffic accident.

The victim had been unable to breathe when his sternum and chest were compressed and he would have died rapidly.

Summing up the evidence, Mr Mahon said Shane Hickey was an experienced tractor driver and because no defect had been found in the vehicle there could only be speculation as to whether he had a momentary lapse of concentration.

It did not seem that the injuries caused to Shane occurred by the act of the tractor going into the drain.

The verdict would have to be accidental death because it had to be accepted that Shane had got out of the tractor and was surveying the situation and it came down on him, putting very considerable weight on his chest.

The coroner said he recalled the many tributes paid to Shane, an exceptional young man, and a very healthy one, at the time of his death.

The tributes came from his school and sports clubs he was involved in and he had also been very involved at home in the operation of the farm and was a young man with great potential.

He said he understood the great sense of loss felt by the family and he extended his sympathy to them.

Sergeant Laura Hennessy extended sympathy on behalf of the gardai and Shane's parents thanked everyone for their help, including the gardai and the emergency services.