Train driver did all he could to prevent hitting Sligo mum Jessica McLoughlin (40) on tracks, inquest hears

Padraig O’Gara was the driver of the 3:05pm Sligo to Dublin train that struck and fatally injured mother-of-four Jessica McLoughlin (40), near Ballisodare on 14 June 2023.

Mr O’Gara attended today’s inquest at Sligo Coroner’s Court. In his deposition he told the coroner that he had just passed a long sweeping bend to the left when he saw the two women up ahead in the middle of the track, walking towards him.

He said he was travelling 60 miles per hour and immediately blew the horn and applied the brakes to the emergency position. He said the two woman moved to the side of the track and while one of the women jumped clear, the other did not.

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He said she stood on the outside of the rail track but remained on the track, crouched forward. Mr O’Gara said he continued to blow the horn as he knew she wasn’t clear.

Ms McLoughlin, of Rusheen Ard, Caltragh Co Sligo, sustained fatal injuries after she and her niece, Rebecca Leydon, 26, were involved in the collision. Coroner Eamonn MacGowan told Mr O’Gara that he did all that he could and could not have done anything else.

Ms Leydon was also struck by the train and sustained a broken leg. In a statement, Ms Leydon, told the coroner that she and her aunt were going to get the train to Dublin for a day out. She said she thought it was around 1pm and that they had had a few drinks. She said they got off the train in Collooney because she left her phone in the shop in Sligo and that she felt guilty about this.

They were walking back towards Sligo on the train line and didn’t realise a train was due from Sligo. She said they heard the train horn and when she looked she didn’t think it would hit them but they were struck by the steps.

Ms Leydon said she did not remember much after that. She broke her leg and got staples in two spots. “I miss my auntie Jessica. She helped me a lot. When I was homeless she gave me her bed,” Ms Leydon’s deposition concluded.

Ticket inspector Greg Flanagan told the coroner he was in the back cab when the horn sounded and there were 100 passengers on board. He said that he and the train driver were the only Irish Rail staff on board.

The train came to a complete stop and he saw a woman about 100 metres back lying on the side of the line. He told the driver that if he wanted to stay where he was and contact the emergency services, he would attend the scene

Mr Flanagan said one of the women was crying and trying to stand up and the other was moaning and lying on the ground and he could see she had serious injuries. He told the women not to move and that the emergency services were coming. He went back to the train and got a drink of water for the women and he told the driver the two women were injured and one was very serious. He went back to the women and stayed with them until emergency services arrived.

Paramedic Kieran Currid, in a statement read out by Sergeant Gráinne Fagan, said he brought the ambulance as far as he could at the scene and then went on foot down the railway line to the injured woman.

One of the women was able to talk and they knew she was alive and so he and his colleague, Michael McGonigle, treated the other female. The woman was unresponsive with a major open wound to her lower left side. Initially she had a pulse and they treated the wound.

She went into cardiac arrest and they started CPR and a doctor attended the scene. The doctor pronounced Ms McLoughlin dead at the scene at 4:28pm.

Sgt Fagan read out her deposition. She said she was on duty at 3:45pm at Collooney Garda Station and she was informed of an incident on the rail line between Ballisodare and Collooney that two females had sustained injuries. She travelled to the scene and had a brief conversation with the train driver, Padraig O’Gara who said the train had collided with two females walking on the line.

He said he had applied the emergency brakes and sounded the horn but the females didn’t clear the line in time to avoid contact. She was informed there were 100 passengers on board and they had been instructed by Iarnrod Éireann not to disembark. The two females were being treated by emergency response personnel. Rebecca McLoughlin was brought to Sligo University Hospital.

Sgt Fagan said she boarded the train and viewed CCTV footage at the time of impact. She observed Ms Leydon and Ms McLoughlin step off the track. Ms McLoughlin then leaned forward but remained in the path of the train and was ultimately struck.

Sgt Fagan told the inquest she wanted to take the opportunity to convey her sincere condolences to Ms McLoughlin’s family.

Dt Gda Sandra Deery of Carrick-on-Shannon Garda Station in her deposition said that when she attended the scene, paramedics were working on the two casualties. The driver, Padraig O’Gara, told her that he blew the horn but the woman didn’t clear the track. She preserved the scene and kept a log.

Garda Seamus McGowan of Coolaney Garda Station told the inquest he was on duty from 4pm and took up preservation of the scene and escorted the body of Jessica McLoughlin to the mortuary at Sligo University Hospital at 8:50pm. At 9:31pm, the body of Jessica McLoughlin was formally identified to him by her brother, Jason McLoughlin.

The autopsy was carried out by Dr Erich Langner at Sligo University Hospital on June 15, 2023. Dr Langer said the deceased died of multiple injuries related to trauma from colliding with a train. The toxicology showed presence of alcohol, cocaine, diazepam and prescription drugs which may have been a major contributory factor.

The coroner recorded a narrative verdict that Ms McLoughlin had died from injuries sustained in a collision with a train, against a background of alcohol and drug intoxication.

Mr MacGowan said he wished to give his sympathies to Jessica’s family, present at the inquest, and particularly her niece Rebecca. He said Ms McLoughlin was a young woman and it was such a shame. He also wished the train driver, Mr O’Gara, the best for the future. He said he did all that he could and could do nothing else. Sergeant Derek Butler on behalf of An Garda Síochána also expressed sincere condolence to the family. Mr Declan Hegarty (solicitor) on behalf of Iarnrod Éireann also offered sympathies to the family.