Buncrana Pier inquest: Driver 'over drink-drive limit'

An inquest into the death of five members of a Londonderry family that drowned when their car slid off a County Donegal pier has heard that the driver was over the drink-drive limit.

A pathologist said that Sean McGrotty had a blood alcohol level of 159mg.

The Republic of Ireland limit is 50mg.

Mr McGrotty, 49, his sons Mark, 12, and Evan, eight, his partner's mother Ruth Daniels, 57, and her 14-year-old daughter Jodie Lee Daniels died in 2016.

Their car rolled into Lough Swilly at Buncrana.

Four-month-old Rionaghac-Ann was the sole survivor.

Dr Catriona Dillon, the pathologist who carried out the post-mortem examination on Mr McGrotty, told the inquest his blood-alcohol reading "may indicate a level of intoxication".

However, Dr Dillon said she could not say what level of impairment a driver with that level of alcohol could have.

The inquest also heard a statement from Louise James, who lost five members of her family in the incident.

Ms James was Mr McGrotty's partner, Mark and Evan's mother, Mrs Daniel's daughter and Jodie-Lee's sister.

The inquest heard that she was in England at the time of the tragedy and had spoken with her sister 17 minutes before she died.

She was present at the inquest when the statement was read out.

It detailed how she had been on a trip to Liverpool and spoke to her sister before boarding her plane.

She said she "would see you all later".

When she turned on her phone again, after arriving in Belfast, she received a call from her brother who told her what happened.

She then travelled to Derry and was taken to Letterkenny Hospital, where she spent time with her baby daughter Rionaghac-Ann before identifying the five members of her family.

Earlier, the inquest heard about frantic rescue efforts after the car slid off the pier and of the treacherous conditions on the slipway.

A Garda sergeant told the inquest that he was unable to walk on the lower part of the slipway because it was "slippery with algae".

The inquest also heard a statement from Davitt Walsh, a former footballer who rescued the infant after swimming out to help the family.

Mr McGrotty passed his infant daughter out of the window of the Audi Q7 moments before it sank.

Mr Walsh, who has since been awarded a gold medal for bravery at sea, was able to swim back to shore with the baby.

Mr Walsh was present at the inquest when his statement was read on his behalf.

"I could hear screams and shouting coming from the car," he said.

"I saw the driver trying to break the car window with his elbow, he broke the window.

"I said to him: 'Everyone needs to get out now.'

"The father passed the baby out the window, he sat on the ledge with his hands on the roof - I had to reach up to get the baby."

He said the car was "tilted with the front it under the water and the back wheel up".

"I then saw a young boy try to climb over the back of the driver's seat. I grabbed him by the hand but he was caught on something. The water started to gush into the car, I still had the boys hand but the car went under the water, nose first.

"I was struggling and had to let go. That was the last time I saw anyone else in the car.

"I had the baby in my hand and was trying to keep her above water, I swam the back stroke back to the car as this was the best way to keep the baby out of water."

Mr Walsh said he handed the baby to his girlfriend when he got back to the pier.

"The algae was slippy and I had to push her and the baby up off the algae by wedging my feet in the rocks. My girlfriend took the baby to the car to try and get her warm. I was exhausted and lay on the slipway," he added.

Coroner Denis McCauley told Mr Walsh he had never heard such harrowing evidence.

Earlier the inquest heard from eyewitness Francis Crawford, the man who first called emergency services.

Mr Crawford said it took 12 minutes from the time he called the emergency services until the car sank.

He said he could hear people and children screaming but wasn't sure how many people were in the car.

Mr Crawford said he then saw two adult bodies and a child's body float to the surface of the water.

"One of the adults looked to be trying to swim. That gave me hope that they could be saved," he added.

He said there was green algae on the slipway which was very slippy.

"As a local person I knew not to drive down that far but someone who was unfamiliar with the area would not have known not to," he said.

Mr Crawford's wife, Kay, also told the inquest she could hear screaming from the car.

In his opening remarks, Dr McCauley said he and the jury of four women and five men had "an important and solemn job to investigate the circumstances of a terrible tragedy".

The inquest continues.