Tears as inquest hears ex-GAA star may have fell asleep at wheel in fatal crash
A businessman and well-known Meath GAA figure who was killed in a single vehicle collision two years ago may have fallen asleep at the wheel due to tiredness, an inquest has heard.
Denis Kealy, 43, suffered fatal injuries when his Nissan Cabstar truck crashed into a tree on the R154 at Piercetown, Co Meath at around 2.30pm on June 24, 2023.
Mr Kealy was rushed by ambulance to Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown in Dublin but was pronounced dead a short time later at 4.20pm.
The married father of three and managing director of building firm, KeaMac, was a former GAA player with Meath as well as his local club, Dunshaughlin.
At the inquest into his death on Tuesday, the coroner Aisling Gannon observed there were no eyewitnesses to the collision, while the evidence had not been able to establish definitively what had happened.
A forensic collision investigator, Garda John Coughlan, told a sitting of Dublin District Coroner's Court that the deceased's vehicle had crossed over to the other side of the road 'for some undetermined reason' before mounting a grass verge and colliding with a tree. A report on the crash established that the driver was not wearing a seat belt at the time.
Garda Coughlan said there was no evidence that Mr Kealy had applied the vehicle's brakes at any stage during the incident. He confirmed that the road surface was dry and in good repair, while weather conditions were good.
Garda Coughlan said tests on the truck found it had no defects which could have contributed to the collision.
In reply to questions from the coroner, he said the speed at the point of impact with the tree could not be established.
Having ruled out any environmental or vehicle factors to explain the crash, Garda Coughlan said he believed it was due to 'driver error' but could not be sure if it was because of 'a distraction or a medical event'.
A post-mortem showed Mr Kealy died as a result of catastrophic brain injuries consistent with a road traffic collision with no pre-existing health condition that could have contributed to the fatal crash. Tests confirmed there was no alcohol or drugs in his body.
The deceased's wife, Charlene Kealy, gave evidence that her husband had recently filled out questions about his lifestyle in a form in which he complained of regularly feeling drowsy.
'That stuck out to me,' she remarked.
Ms Kealy said she had no concern about her husband's well-being or his mental health but noted that he would sometimes shake his head to keep himself awake.
The inquest heard he had collected a new car the previous day and had arranged to bring his family to one of their favourite restaurants the following day.
Ms Kealy said her husband had taken a day off work to collect the car and she believed he was 'trying to catch up' with work on the day of the crash.
The inquest heard on the day before he died, Mr Kealy had got up at around 4.30am and did not get home until 11pm.
The deceased's wife said he went to bed at 11.30pm but was up early the following day as he had sent an e-mail at 6am. She claimed he was a hard worker who enjoyed his work.
While he had a stressful job as a managing director of a company, she said he was well capable of managing such stress.
In reply to questions from the coroner, Ms Kealy said their business was doing well financially, while there was nothing that had emerged following his death which would have caused them any concern.
Although sometimes she might have complained about some of his driving habits, Ms Kealy said her husband would definitely wear his seat belt whenever she was with him.
Ms Kealy fought back tears as the inquest heard that her husband had brought her breakfast in bed on the morning of the fatal crash before he went off to work on a number of sites as it was her birthday.
She described how she was celebrating with a number of female friends later that afternoon when she received a call to alert her to what happened.
'I've three little boys at home who are devastated by the loss of Denis. They adored him and Denis adored them,' said Ms Kealy.
She added: 'We're broken. We really are.'
Summing up the evidence, the coroner said there was nothing to indicate any intentional act by Mr Kealy in relation to the crash as she had heard of 'significant future-focused acts' like the purchase of a new car and making a dinner reservation.
Ms Gannon noted suggestions that he was 'significantly tired', which was a 'more probable' explanation for what may have happened.
Offering her condolences to the deceased's family, the coroner recorded a verdict of death by misadventure which she explained was because the death was due to an unintended act.
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