Lorry’s diesel spill led to fatal road accident
A WOMAN died after the car her husband was driving skidded on a diesel spillage in Tyrone, an inquest has heard.
At yesterday’s hearing in Belfast, a specialist accident investigator explained how a Scania lorry leaked diesel on to the main Ballygawley to Omagh road causing dangerous driving conditions.
Mary Wasson — the front seat passenger in a Renault Espace being driven by her husband Dr Ciaran Wasson — was thrown out of the vehicle’s tailgate window when it skidded across the road and into the path of an oncoming BMW X5 close to the Ballygawley Roundabout.
Mrs Wasson, 50, suffered severe multiple injuries in the collision and died at the scene. Dr Wasson, who lived with his wife on Belfast’s Upper Lisburn Road, was also thrown from the Renault and suffered serious injuries.
The incident took place on Sunday, October 4, 2009 around 4.40pm when Dr Wasson attempted to slow down on the downhill section of the A5 as he approached the roundabout.
A witness described how she noticed the Renault Espace “lose traction in the back wheels” and “looked like it was doing a U-turn on the road”.
Rosemary Stevenson also told coroner Brian Sherrard that none of the vehicles involved were driving dangerously or at excessive speed.
Mrs Stevenson, a Marie Curie nurse, remained at the scene with her husband assisting casualties until the arrival of an ambulance.
Accident investigator Stephen Quinn, now retired, gave evidence that a front engine people carrier-type vehicle with front seat occupants only would have a disproportionate front end weight making it susceptible to a loss of traction in such circumstances.
A police sergeant gave evidence that the PSNI had received four separate reports of a lorry leaking fuel in the area prior to the collision, and that the source of the spillage was a Scania lorry owned by Loane Transport of Kesh.
The driver of the lorry, Steven Rothwell, had pulled in at an industrial site a few miles beyond the scene having been flagged down by a passing motorist and informed of the leak.
Mr Rothwell said he shut off the second fuel tank to stop the flow of diesel to the leak before phoning the firm’s office to say he was driving on towards Larne.
“I rang the office then motored on to the ferry, but they rang back to say the police had been on and there had been an incident.”
Mr Rothwell also told the coroner that both of the lorry’s fuel tanks had been filled to capacity for the onward journey to Great Britain and it had no history of any defects in the fuel system.
When examined by the forensic accident investigator, it was discovered that the lorry had a rupture in a pipe linking its two fuel tanks.
Mr Quinn said he believed the damage appeared to have been caused by someone trying to remove a metal insert from the plastic pipe with “something like a screwdriver” or a similar tool. Mr Quinn said: “Maybe someone wasn’t able to remove it so tried to prise it.”
However, Mr Rothwell told the coroner he had no idea what caused the pipe to break, explaining that the vehicle was just over a year old and still under the care of the manufacturer for servicing.
When asked by the coroner if someone could have interfered with the vehicle, Mr Rothwell said: “No. The only thing we can think of is that something came up off the road and caused it.”
Loane Transport director Blakely Loane supported the driver’s theory as the most likely explanation for the damage to the pipe.
“I can only speculate, but it’s at the rear of the tank, immediately in front of an axle,” Mr Loane said.
“Possibly the tyre has lifted an item off the road and it’s come round and struck it.”
The coroner said the sudden and brutal nature of the incident was a “reminder of how fragile life can be”.
Mr Sherrard said there was very little good to come out of such an horrific incident but added: “Everybody will be reassured that when something like this happens there are still people good enough to stop and help — particularly the Stevensons in this instance.”
After the inquest, a representative of the Wasson family paid tribute to the Stevensons and others who assisted at the scene of the accident.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Belfast
Tuesday 29 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 12 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South
