By 
AN inquest into the death of a Dungannon man struck by a vehicle as he lay on an Aughnacloy road three years ago has found he had collapsed on the road after consuming drugs and alcohol.
Delivering the findings, Coroner Anne-Louise Toal confirmed that 44-year-old Niall McDonald died as a result of multiple injuries sustained when he fell and was struck by a vehicle while lying prone on the ground. During the two-day inquest last week, Mr McDonald’s daughter described him as a ‘hard-working man’ who loved his family and was a devoted supporter of Tottenham Hotspur and Tyrone GAA.
In an emotional statement read at Banbridge courthouse, his daughter Kate said her father is ‘deeply missed’ by all who knew him.
Further evidence heard during the inquest last week revealed that Mr McDonald had been walking along the Tullyvar Road late at night in September 2022.
Police, paramedics and a community first responder attempted CPR at the scene, but he was pronounced dead shortly after.
The coroner found that on the days leading up to his death, Mr McDonald had not eaten anything substantial and had consumed alcohol, Clonazepam and cocaine.
She said the combination resulted in Mr McDonald being ‘considerably intoxicated’.
“It was clear from CCTV evidence that he was heavily intoxicated to the extent that he was unsteady of his feet,” she said.
“The combination of alcohol, cocaine and Clonazepam, which was not prescribed, can have unpredictable effects.”
It was heard that after leaving a friend’s house on the night of his death, Mr McDonald decided to get a Chinese takeaway.
However, upon discovering that the takeaway was closed, he made his way onto the Tullyvar Road in an intoxicated state where he was later seen thumbing a lift, possibly trying to make his way home.
“He was clearly a vulnerable individual who was intoxicated and moving on and off the carriageway late at night,” said the coroner.
“After falling on the road, it would have been difficult for oncoming traffic to see him.”
Mr McDonald was declared dead at the scene of the collision at 12.43am on September 27, 2022.
It was heard that one road user who had seen Mr McDonald walking along the road prior to collapsing had called police on 101, but no police call signs were available when called on the night and that it took 37 minutes before one was allocated whom, at the time of dispatch, was 20 minutes away.
It was confirmed by the coroner that, even if the call had been graded emergency status, a call sign would not have been available any earlier.
Prior to his death, multiple road users had seen Mr McDonald walking along the road, with one driver making a phone call to the police just before midnight stating that they had swerved to avoid him.
A short time afterwards, police received another report from the driver who had collided with Mr McDonald as he lay on the road.
The driver of the vehicle, Mervyn Parr, gave evidence at the inquest in which he had stated that a vehicle driving in front of him braked suddenly and swerved on the road before he then felt a ‘bump’ on the passenger’s side of his vehicle.
“It was horrifying, an absolute nightmare,” Mr Parr told the inquest last week. “I seen nothing on the road.”
Mr Parr called emergency services and spoke to police at the scene.
He described Mr McDonald’s body as ‘lifeless’ as he approached him at the scene.
The coroner then relayed a message from Mr McDonald’s family to Mr Parr in which they stated that they do not hold him responsible for the accident.
Concluding the findings, the coroner said that Mr McDonald was still alive as he lay on the road before being struck by Mr Parr’s vehicle.
“There was no impact prior to this,” explained the Coroner.
“The deceased was narrowly avoided by several others and Mr Parr was not in position to avoid impact due to traffic in front of him.”
