Inquest into death of young Beragh man adjourned until June

THERE were emotional scenes at the inquest into the death of a young Beragh man on the M1 motorway more than six years ago, as the friend who had been fighting with him moments before the fatal collision gave evidence.

Darryl Thompson was just 22 when he was killed in a head-on collision on November 10, 2018. The Coroner’s Court, sitting in Belfast, is trying to establish the events in the hours and moments leading up to the tragedy. His mother Edwina Clarke was visibly upset during the evidence of a key witness, Dominic Daly, on Wednesday. She was comforted by family and friends as she wiped away tears and held hands with those beside her during a tense exchange between Daly and her barrister.

The court heard that Daly and Mr Thompson had become involved in a fist-fight in the back of the car they were travelling in on the M1. The vehicle came to a stop between the Tamnamore and Dungannon junctions, and the fight continued on the hard shoulder before spilling onto the live lane of the motorway.

A PSNI officer told the court she had reasonable grounds to suspect Darryl Thompson had been ‘pushed onto the hard shoulder’. Despite repeated questions from barrister Michael Forde, acting for the Thompson family, Daly said he had no recollection of the incident or what had happened on the motorway.

“You did not hear that evidence. But you were one of the people there — one of the only people who know exactly what happened. This is your opportunity to assist the Coroner and a grieving family. Darryl Thompson lost his life and you say you don’t know what happened. That is just unbelievable.” Daly was initially arrested on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter in the immediate aftermath of the crash.

‘SOMETHING ELSE HAPPENED’

Retired PSNI officer Mark O’Hare said he had spoken with Daly, Kellie Keenan and Tiernan Sutton – the others who had been travelling in the car with Mr Thompson from a drift racing event near Loughgall.

“My impression was that they knew more than they were telling me — that something else had happened,” he said.

“They had reversed the vehicle, and then drove into the line of traffic. It was only by pure luck that we then came across them. The motorway traffic had all stopped and they had reversed the car back. The evidence, for me, was that something had gone wrong and they were trying to avoid culpability.”

He said that based on the statements of Sutton and Keenan, a fight had broken out in the car and then ‘spilled’ onto the hard shoulder. At that point, he added, the situation was ‘extremely dangerous’, with vehicles passing at motorway speeds. Mr O’Hare said the most honest exchanges had come from those who witnessed what happened on the side of the closed motorway.

After Wednesday’s evidence, Coroner Louise Fee adjourned the Inquest until June to facilitate the attendance of Kellie Keenan and Tiernan Sutton.

Mr Sutton did not give evidence this week as he is currently in America, while Ms Keenan’s evidence was not completed after her remote link stopped on Tuesday.