Drunk young man from Co Londonderry walked directly in front of vehicle: inquest

That was the finding of an inquest which concluded on Thursday concerning 21-year-old Ciaran Feeney, who died in the early hours of July 13, 2014.

A previous hearing had seen evidence presented by forensic officer David Nicholson, who stated that the taxi driver involved in the fatal incident could not have avoided the collision, and that his response time had been an estimated 2.2 seconds.

The findings record that Mr Feeney – from Tamnaherin Road in Eglinton – had been returning on foot from a night out in Londonderry at the time the Vauxhall Vectra hit him on the Glenshane Road.

The document reads: “The collision occurred when Mr Feeney stepped out onto the Derry-bound carriageway from the footpath on the same side of the road and directly into the path of the oncoming vehicle. He was heavily intoxicated at the time of the collision.”

He was pronounced dead at 2.47am.