Trial of truck driver who knocked down and killed elderly woman hears from collision investigator
Eimear Dodd
The trial of a delivery truck driver who knocked down and killed an elderly woman has heard from a forensic collision investigator.
Justinas Marinskas (41) of Castleview Lawns, Swords, Co Dublin has pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to one count of careless driving causing the death of Eileen Dalton at Convent Lane, Dun Laoghaire on February 18th 2022.
The trial has heard that Dalton (78) was walking to work in Monkstown on the morning in question, when she was knocked down by a truck being driven by Marisnkas, a Lynas Foodservice truck driver, who was making a delivery in Dun Laoghaire.
“As the truck driven by the accused made the turn, a collision occurred between the truck and Dalton,” McQuade said in his opening address to the jury this week. “It is the prosecution case that in turning left in the manner in which he did, that he was guilty of careless driving.”
The court has heard that at the time of the collision, a fire drill was taking place in nearby Bloomfields Shopping Centre and a large crowd of shoppers and workers had gathered in various evacuation spots outside.
Garda Gerard Dowd, forensic collision investigator, told Justin McQuade BL, prosecuting, on Wednesday that his role is to advise the investigation of contributory factors and possible causes of the collision.
Gda Dowd took the court through his forensic collision report.
This included a frame-by-frame analysis of CCTV footage obtained from St Michael’s Hospital and Dunphy’s pub before and after the collision.
The court was told that the moment of collision was not captured on the CCTV footage.
He said that the truck was in good working order and that there was a “good view” through the mirrors, which were positioned correctly and reasonably clean.
He took the jury through the truck’s blind spots, noting that these exist in every vehicle.
He said in his view, the driver should have been in a heightened state of alert as there were many people on the roadside at the time of the collision due to the shopping centre fire drill.
He agreed with Mr McQuade that it appeared to him that Dalton would have been outside of the vehicle’s blind spots and available to be seen in the side mirror.
He outlined that while it was very windy, this was not considered a causal factor. The road surface was in a good state of repair and there was no visible contamination.
The speed of the truck was also not considered a causal factor in the collision, Gda Dowd told the court.
During cross examination Kevin White SC, defending, put it to Gda Dowd that some witnesses had described the woman appearing to trip, fall forward or be blown over.
Gda Dowd agreed there was an extreme weather warning in place on the day.
Gda Dowd maintained that, looking at the CCTV, weather did not seem to be a factor.
The witness agreed with White that his assumption was the truck had gone over the kerb.
He agreed there was no footage of it going over the kerb but said the tyre marks on the kerb were fresh and it was his opinion that the truck took that route.
The trial continues before Judge Martin Nolan and a jury.
