Car crash last night in Knocknacarra

Funkygreendogs

Has anyone heard anything about this? Aparantly on the radio it said some roads in knocknacarra are closed off due to a fatal crash last night

biko

Yes, there was a major accident yesterday on Barna road below Knocknacarra.

Iwannahurl

DRIVER ARRESTED AFTER MAN SERIOUSLY INJURED IN SALTHILL CRASH

December 23, 2012 - 2:15pm

THE driver of a car was arrested and taken to Galway Garda Station for questioning after a pedestrian suffered serious injuries when struck by a car in the Knockacarra area of Salthill in the early hours of today.

The incident happened on the Barna Road at 1.40 am and the young man, who was walking, suffered serious leg injuries and was rushed to University Hospital, Galway (UHG) where he is being treated for his injuries.

The driver of the car was arrested at the scene and taken to Galway Garda Station where he is being questioned under the Provisions of Section 4 of the the Criminal Justice Act 1984.

A stretch of the Barna Road was closed overnight and until lunchtime today, from Knocknacarra Cross to the entrance to the Ballymoneen Road, as the scene of the incident was preserved while Garda investigations continued.

Approximate location of collision: on the brow of the hill between here and here.

There's a strange blank on StreetView along this stretch, hence the two links above.

There was a fatal crash in the vicinity back in 2008.


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Iwannahurl

MAN BEFORE COURT FOLLOWING PEDESTRIAN CRASH IN KNOCKNACARRA

December 24, 2012 - 10:12am

A man aged in his early 30s is to appear before court today (Dec 24) following a crash in the Knocknacarra area yesterday in which a pedestrian was seriously injured.

The incident happened on the Barna Road at 1.40 yesterday morning during which a young man was struck by a car while walking.

He suffered serious leg injuries and was rushed to University Hospital, Galway (UHG).

The man, who was the driver of the car, was arrested at the scene and taken to Galway Garda Station where he was questioned under Section 4 of the the Criminal Justice Act.

He's to appear before a special sitting of Galway District Court today.

Iwannahurl

Man remanded in custody.

_Whimsical_

In some good news the Galway Advertiser are reporting that the victim is making very good progress in hospital and surprising staff. Hes in intensive care in presumably a medically induced coma as they mention staff are hoping to wake him tomorrow,earlier than they expected to be able to.

doubleglaze

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

In some good news the Galway Advertiser are reporting that the victim is making very good progress in hospital and surprising staff. Hes in intensive care in presumably a medically induced coma as they mention staff are hoping to wake him tomorrow,earlier than they expected to be able to.

This is truly hopeful news. Please goodness, let him make a full recovery!

Iwannahurl

Good to hear.

Medically induced coma implies/suggests head injury or neurosurgical intervention of some sort.

Iwannahurl

Update on this serious collision: I have been told by several independent sources that the pedestrian injured in this crash lost both his legs below the knee.

ronnie3585

Iwannahurl wrote: »

Update on this serious collision: I have been told by several independent sources that the pedestrian injured in this crash lost both his legs below the knee.

Was there a point, other than rubbernecking, for dredging up this thread?

galwaycyclist

ronnie3585 wrote: »

Was there a point, other than rubbernecking, for dredging up this thread?

Yes some of us keep an eye on these things for the purpose of reducing the frequency with which they occur. There is a difference between rubbernecking and stopping to help at the scene of a crash or working to prevent crashes.

ronnie3585

galwaycyclist wrote: »

Yes some of us keep an eye on these things for the purpose of reducing the frequency with which they occur. There is a difference between rubbernecking and stopping to help at the scene of a crash or working to prevent crashes.

So, reading info on boards about a person you don't know who was hit by drunk driver reduces the frequency of such events happening.

How does that work?

Zzippy

I know the lad who was involved very well, and while he might not mind this thread himself, I think its a bit crass to be posting details of injuries to anyone involved in such an accident. Everyone can read in the paper that there were serious injuries, there's no need to spell out exactly what they are. People don't need to know those details to help work on preventing crashes, and people are also entitled to have their medical details kept private, not posted on an internet forum.

galwaycyclist

ronnie3585 wrote: »

So, reading info on boards about a person you don't know who was hit by drunk driver reduces the frequency of such events happening.

How does that work?

If you require information on how civil society and representative democracy works in this country then the citizens information office has quite a good website.

Iwannahurl

ronnie3585 wrote: »

Was there a point, other than rubbernecking, for dredging up this thread?

ronnie3585 wrote: »

So, reading info on boards about a person you don't know who was hit by drunk driver reduces the frequency of such events happening. How does that work?

Zzippy wrote: »

I know the lad who was involved very well, and while he might not mind this thread himself, I think its a bit crass to be posting details of injuries to anyone involved in such an accident. Everyone can read in the paper that there were serious injuries, there's no need to spell out exactly what they are. People don't need to know those details to help work on preventing crashes, and people are also entitled to have their medical details kept private, not posted on an internet forum.

Curious that highlighting the seriousness of a particular collision on a particular road should be equated with "rubbernecking".

I have referred to nobody's "medical details", since I don't have access to such information, obviously. Nor did I mention anything about a "drunk driver", incidentally.

The term "serious injury" is very broad, and it may not be realised just how life-changing such injuries can be.

There's an incredible amount of complacency about these things, and IMO there's an attitude that if nobody died then there's not so much to worry about. The Barna Road has seen numerous collisions over the years, some of them fatal, some of them "serious" and many of them "minor". Yet almost nothing has been done to make that road safer, for vulnerable road users especially.

Susan Gray of PARC has called for serious injuries in road collisions to be given much greater attention.

The RSA, GNTB, DoJE&D, DoT and others are also prioritising serious injury, as significant progress is made on reducing fatalities.


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ronnie3585

galwaycyclist wrote: »

If you require information on how civil society and representative democracy works in this country then the citizens information office has quite a good website.

That sentence is meaningless. Using big words like 'representative democracy' doesn't hide the fact that you're clearly talking out your arse. What has representative democracy got to do with this accident, or any accident for that matter?

Iwannahurl

My own understanding of terms such as "civil society" and "representative democracy" is that citizens have a right -- possibly even a moral obligation -- to raise issues of concern and to engage in discussion and action regarding matters of public interest and public welfare.

Road safety is one very important area where the public interest is well served by civic engagement, IMO.

By the way, in this context, I would argue against the routine use of the word "accident" to describe events of a type that are in broad terms predictable and preventable.

Pappa Charlie

Iwannahurl wrote: »

My own understanding of terms such as "civil society" and "representative democracy" is that citizens have a right -- possibly even a moral obligation -- to raise issues of concern and to engage in discussion and action regarding matters of public interest and public welfare.

Road safety is one very important area where the public interest is well served by civic engagement, IMO.

I've a nosey neighbour who feels the same!

Iwannahurl

Welcome back.

Interesting use of the words "civic", "civil" "democratic" and "society" in this document: http://www.garda.ie/Documents/User/communiquejune2006.pdf

And here: http://www.garda.ie/Documents/User/national%20model%20of%20community%20policing%20-%20jan%2026th%202009.pdf

ronnie3585

Iwannahurl wrote: »

My own understanding of terms such as "civil society" and "representative democracy" is that citizens have a right -- possibly even a moral obligation -- to raise issues of concern and to engage in discussion and action regarding matters of public interest and public welfare.

My brain hurts.

My question is very simple. Broken down to it's most basic, representative democracy is a form of government whereby individuals elect other individuals to represent them. What, therefore, has this got to do with what happened to the poor lad involved in this incident?

Andrea B.

ronnie3585 wrote: »

So, reading info on boards about a person you don't know who was hit by drunk driver reduces the frequency of such events happening.

How does that work?

can you link to the charge or conviction for "drunk"?

biko

Ok, this is spiralling now. There is no mention in any linked source about drink being involved. Let's not go there until there is official confirmation.
I don't mind discussions on traffic dangers but let's keep this local and on topic.

Zzippy, please convey our deepest sympathies to the injured man.

Sponge Bob

This thread shoulda been lockzoned once someone was charged and remanded in custody 2 months back. Wild speculation, conflation issues and general opinions are not proper once someone is charged, way it is. !!!

Not even sure about the wisdom of unlocking the threads once the sentence is over either!.

galwaycyclist

ronnie3585 wrote: »

My brain hurts.

My question is very simple. Broken down to it's most basic, representative democracy is a form of government whereby individuals elect other individuals to represent them. What, therefore, has this got to do with what happened to the poor lad involved in this incident?

Because the likelihood of such incidents and the associated injuries.derives from decisions made about how we manage and police our roads. If we are to get those decisions changed, it is useful to be able to confront those in charge with the consequenes of their actions.

Pappa Charlie

galwaycyclist wrote: »

Because the likelihood of such incidents and the associated injuries.derives from decisions made about how we manage and police our roads. If we are to get those decisions changed, it is useful to be able to confront those in charge with the consequenes of their actions.

There's a time and a place and its not here!!

galwaycyclist

Pappa Charlie wrote: »

Theres a time and a place and its not here!!

So where then? At the end of the 1990s our collective failure to provide ourselves with an appropriate and effective national system for managing and policing our roads resulted in a situation we had the highest child pedestrian death rate in Western Europe.

In contrast to the current media handwringing over cyberbullying, you will find little discussion or admission of this fact in the newspapers of the time. For some sectors of Irish civil society it would seem that discussions about pedestrian safety have implications that are too uncomfortable to contemplate.

Despite these established failures of our police and our national media(among others) this is still a democracy and the rest of us as voters have to get on with addressing these issues

By default places like boards becomes the forum for such discussions. It is clearly far from ideal but it is much much better than nothing.

Sponge Bob

Yeah but not in this thread please GC, start a new one in Commuting and Transport or something like that.

Pappa Charlie

galwaycyclist wrote: »

So where then? At the end of the 1990s our collective failure to provide ourselves with an appropriate and effective national system for managing and policing our roads resulted in a situation we had the highest child pedestrian death rate in Western Europe.

In contrast to the current media handwringing over cyberbullying, you will find little discussion or admission of this fact in the newspapers of the time. For some sectors of Irish civil society it would seem that discussions about pedestrian safety have implications that are too uncomfortable to contemplate.

Despite these established failures of our police and our national media(among others) this is still a democracy and the rest of us as voters have to get on with addressing these issues

By default places like boards becomes the forum for such discussions. It is clearly far from ideal but it is much much better than nothing.

Like I said there's a time and a place, the dragging up of this thread was to enquire of the extent of personal injury of a victim, not appropiate and trying to justify it in the name of road safety is disingenuous !

galwaycyclist

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Yeah but not in this thread please GC, start a new one in Commuting and Transport or something like that.

Pappa Charlie wrote: »

Like I said there's a time and a place, the dragging up of this thread was to enquire of the extent of personal injury of a victim, not appropiate and trying to justify it in the name of road safety is disingenuous !

I accept that this is not a good place to discuss such issues - but people who choose to object to the acknowledgement of these issues, or who choose to take offence at the established concern of others regarding these issues, can expect to be taken down off their high horses.

So no apologies.

@Zzippy please pass on my own hopes for a good recovery to your friend.

Iwannahurl

Pappa Charlie wrote: »

Like I said there's a time and a place, the dragging up of this thread was to enquire of the extent of personal injury of a victim, not appropiate and trying to justify it in the name of road safety is disingenuous !

No "dragging" involved, and what's "disingenuous" about referring to road safety in the context of a serious collision?

Sponge Bob

galwaycyclist wrote: »

I accept that this is not a good place to discuss such issues

You can get on any horse you like unless it is clear that someone has been charged with something in which case some circumspection is to be expected of all of us.

galwaycyclist

Sponge Bob wrote: »

You can get on any horse you like unless it is clear that someone has been charged with something in which case some circumspection is to be expected of all of us.

Agreed. Establishing facts rather than engaging in random speculation about either the incident, or the motives of those who are concerned about it, are all that is needed.

Iwannahurl

I think discussion about safety on the Barna Road is required.

However, I'm also aware that a particular case has come before the courts.

Perhaps such important matters would be more appropriate for another thread, but I don't believe that a particular collision, even if it is sub judice, should preclude discussion about general safety issues relating to the location.

Quite the opposite, I would suggest. If the safety of a particular road can't be highlighted after a collision occurs, when can it be?

Sponge Bob

Iwannahurl wrote: »

Quite the opposite, I would suggest. If the safety of a particular road can't be highlighted after a collision occurs, when can it be?

We cannot go to " safety of a particular road" in this thread under the circumstances which involved a late night incident where someone was charged afterwards. Find somewhere else to discuss it.

beardybrewer

Iwannahurl wrote: »

If the safety of a particular road can't be highlighted after a collision occurs, when can it be?

The sad reality is only after fatalities become statistics to highlight the problem does public money get allocated to do something about it.

Iwannahurl

Sponge Bob wrote: »

We cannot go to " safety of a particular road" in this thread under the circumstances which involved a late night incident where someone was charged afterwards. Find somewhere else to discuss it.

Are you modding the Galway City forum now?

newkie wrote: »

The sad reality is only after fatalities become statistics to highlight the problem does public money get allocated to do something about it.

I'm not even sure that accumulated evidence of fatalities makes a difference.

There are several locations in Galway City where fatalities and serious injuries have occurred and where no action has been taken to mitigate risk, whether by engineering or enforcement measures.

EDIT: Now that I think of it, perhaps the way to discuss such matters without referencing a particular case still before the courts would be to have a general thread on road safety in the city? Or is that a total non-runner in the Galway City forum at this stage, given the fate of previous road/traffic related threads? Just a thought, well-intentioned...

Sponge Bob

Iwannahurl wrote: »

EDIT: Now that I think of it, perhaps the way to discuss such matters without referencing a particular case still before the courts would be to have a general thread on road safety in the city?

Ching ching.

Or is that a total non-runner in the Galway City forum at this stage, given the fate of previous road/traffic related threads? Just a thought, well-intentioned...

Not every one is locked....and there are rather a lot of them including some yet worthy of a resurrection.

Redhairedguy

Iwannahurl wrote: »

perhaps the way to discuss such matters without referencing a particular case still before the courts would be to have a general thread on road safety in the city? Or is that a total non-runner in the Galway City forum at this stage, given the fate of previous road/traffic related threads? Just a thought, well-intentioned...

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Not every one is locked....and there are rather a lot of them including some yet worthy of a resurrection.

This thread doesn't seem to be going anywhere except in circles, so I'm locking it for the time being.

It's becoming a thread about creating a thread within a thread... Mother of God. Thread-ception!

Condolences to the injured man.

The problem with general traffic threads is that they go off topic and tend to get a little nasty very fast. If there was an acceptable format for a traffic thread in which everyone behaved and was civil, it might be on the cards for creation.

Please contact me if anyone has anything else pertinent to add to this thread.

Iwannahurl

A drink-driver who severed a pedestrian’s leg when he mounted a footpath on the Barna Road while almost five times over the legal blood-alcohol limit has been jailed for five years and disqualified from driving for 20 years.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/motorist-who-severed-pedestrian-s-leg-in-crash-jailed-1.1672700

biko

Another update

Drunk driver gets most of five-year sentence suspended

A drunk driver who struck a pedestrian and left him a double amputee has had three years of his five year sentence suspended and his 20-year driving ban reduced to five years by the Court of Appeal.