This article is from page 6 of the 2014-07-29 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
THE heartbroken family of a grandmother who died in a tragic accident outside a shopping centre in Ennis have thanked members of the public who attempted to save her life.
Josephine Lucas (74) died after she was rolled over by her reversing silver Mazda car in the car park of Aldi Shopping Centre on Francis Street on February 23.
Members of the public, including an off duty nurse, off duty fireman and off duty paramedic, were on the scene and attempted to resuscitate.
Ms Lucas, who had been shopping with her two young grandchildren at the time, was pronounced dead at the scene. An inquest into her death yesterday found she died from acute cardio respiratory failure secondary to multiple traumatic chest injuries. A jury of four men and two women at Clare Coroner’s Court returned a verdict of accidental death.
At the end of the hearing, the Lucas family’s solicitor William Cahir said the family were extremely grateful for the efforts of those that tried to help Josephine.
He said the family wanted to extend thanks to all the first responders who helped on the afternoon.
In her deposition to the inquest, Mairead Doohan, an off duty nurse, said she was coming out of Aldi at around 13.33 when she noticed a car reverse and hit a footpath.
She said she saw a body lying on the ground. She said the woman had a cut on her head, had no pulse and was unresponsive.
“She was lifeless,” Ms Doohan explained. Ms Doohan said she performed CPR and tried to create an airway for Ms Lucas to breathe.
Gearoid Blake, an off duty station officer at Ennis Fire Station, was also in the area on the day.
He said he phoned an ambulance and performed chest compressions on Ms Lucas as he awaited the arrival of the emergency services.
Andrew Long, an off duty paramedic, said Ms Lucas was initially unresponsive but started to breathe again following CPR.
Mr Long said he went to get basic resuscitation equipment but when he returned, Ms Lucas had stopped breathing. Garda Niall Cosgrave of Ennis Garda Station said he studied CCTV footage of the area to retrace Ms Lucas’ final moments.
A report by pathologist Dr Elizabeth Mulcahy found that the cause of death was acute cardio respiratory failure secondary to multiple traumatic chest injuries consistent with a road traffic accident.
The jury returned a verdict of accidental death. County Coroner Isobel O’Dea said that a Garda report referred to the incident as a “freak accident”. She extended her sympathies to the Lucas family. She said the difficulties experienced by the family went “beyond description”.
Inspector John O’Sullivan extended sympathies on behalf of the gardaí on this “tragic accident”. The forewoman of the jury also extended the jury’s sympathies.