This article is from page 8 of the 2006-11-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 8 JPG
A TEENAGE birthday celebration turned to tragedy when a young girl was killed in a road accident, moments after she had left a party.
Ennis Coroner’s Court heard that Charelle Howard (17), an only child, from The Watery Road, Ennis, was a back-seat passenger in a Volkswagen Polo car that was involved in a single vehicle accident at Shanaway Road, Ennis, in the early hours of July 16, 2005.
Charelle’s friend, Jennifer O’Halloran, recalled how she held a house party at her home in Woodstock, Ennis, to celebrate her 18th birthday. At around 12.30am, a number of those attending the party decided to go to the Queen’s nightclub. A young man, Aidan Quilligan from Sixmilebridge, was driving and there were six passengers in the car. Mr Quilligan had not been drinking and everybody was in good form, the inquest heard. En route to Ennis, the car overturned and Ms O’Halloran noticed that her friend was not moving.
“Charelle didn’t answer. I said to her, ‘Come on, get out of the car’, but she was not moving. I knew she was unconscious,” recalled Ms O’Halloran.
A man who was driving behind Mr Quilligan’s car, minutes before the accident, said the car in which the group was travelling was moving at a speed of “maybe 60 mph.”
Charelle’s grandfather Jack Howard, from Newmarket-on-Fergus, recalled how his daughter Sandra rang him at 12.45am to say that Charelle had been in an accident. Twenty minutes later, she phoned again to say that Charelle had passed away.
A PSV inspector examined the car and noted that it was roadworthy. Dr Jeffrey de Freitas, who carried out an autopsy on Charelle’s body, concluded that death was due to cardiac respiratory failure, due to a fracture of the skull, consistent with having been involved in a road traffic accident.
County Coroner Isobel O’Dea said the accident, after a birthday party, was a “sad tragedy”. The jury agreed with her suggestion that a verdict of accidental death be brought. Ms O’Dea said alcohol was not a factor in the accident. “A young life was tragically lost, after an evening’s entertainment. It was a tragic accident,” she said.
Mr Quilligan’s family extended sympathy with the Howard family on the loss of Charelle, through their solicitor.