The families of two British motorcyclists killed in a crash on the M50 last year have asked the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to explain why it was decided that there should be no criminal prosecution arising out of the fatal collision.
Paul Ingram (59) and Brian McFarlane (63) died instantly on the northbound section of the M50 between the Red Cow and Liffey Valley junctions on June 3rd, 2022.
A sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court on Tuesday heard the relatives of the two friends have sought an explanation from the DPP, Catherine Pierse, for her decision not to prosecute anyone over the incident.
Detective Inspector Brian Hanley applied for a further adjournment of the inquest into the deaths of the two men under Section 25.1 of the Coroners Act as a result of the questioning of the DPP’s decision by their families.
Mr Ingram, from Moulton in Northamptonshire, and Mr McFarlane, from Sutton Courtenay in Oxfordshire, had been enjoying a motorcycling holiday around Ireland by touring and camping along the Wild Atlantic Way.
The fatal incident occurred when the men's two Harley-Davidson motorbikes collided with each other on the M50 as they were coming to the end of their holiday.
It is understood the two men were killed instantly when a truck travelling directly behind them was unable to avoid hitting the motorcyclists.
A preliminary hearing of the inquest last year heard the bodies of the two victims could only be formally identified by DNA samples due to the horrific nature of their injuries.
Post-mortem examination results confirmed both men had died as a result of multiple injuries to the brain and vital organs.
In the immediate aftermath of the collision, gardaí were forced to issue an appeal to members of the public not to share images from the crash site after shocking footage of the scene was posted on social media.
One relative of Mr Ingram said she had seen the images online before realising it was a member of her own family.
The coroner, Clare Keane, granted the application by Det Insp Hanley and adjourned the hearing until December 15th.
Relatives of the deceased as well as their legal representatives attended the hearing via video-link but did not address the court.
