A driver who hit a 24-year-old e-bike rider crossing a Dublin road on a red light had “no time to react”, an inquest into his death heard on Thursday.
Sam Elliot (24) of Foxrock Close, Deansgrange, Co Dublin, was dressed in dark clothing on a black e-bike without a light or helmet when he was hit by a car while crossing the N11 road at Cabinteely shortly before 5pm on November 14th, 2024, the court heard.
Elliot died 12 days after the crash in the intensive care unit of Beaumont Hospital on November 26th 2024 due to severe head injuries consistent with the incident.
Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane of Dublin District Coroner’s Court ruled Elliot’s death a misadventure, an “accident, with a risk” caused when he “proceeded on a red light”.
Garda forensic crash investigator Gerard Dowd concluded that Elliot had crossed the N11 on a red light and was struck by a white Toyota Yaris which had entered the junction on a green light at a legal speed for that stretch of the road, 63km/h.
The driver of the car “started to brake shortly before the impact,” Dowd told the court.
No criminal charges were brought by the Director of Public Prosecutions against the driver of the Toyota, a decision which was subject to an unsuccessful judicial review by the Elliot family.
Daniel Hayes, a friend of the deceased, said he and Elliot were cycling to a local Chinese restaurant on the Cabinteely village side of the N11 dual carriageway.
To cross the busy road, Hayes made the decision to cycle his mountain bike up and over the roadway on the Cabinteely Footbridge, whereas Elliot opted to traverse through the junction itself.
“See you on the other side,” Hayes said to his friend, who he recalled replied, “Yeah.”
While cycling over the footbridge, Hayes heard an impact noise and looked down to see Elliot’s “skidding and sparking”. He called another member of the Elliot family while passersby, who rushed to the aid of the injured cyclist, alerted emergency services.
The 24-year-old received treatment from paramedics at the scene before being brought to Beaumont in “critical condition”, one Garda at the scene said.
Dublin District Coroner’s Court heard that Elliot cycled across the road, “with his head down” when a green arrow activated for a slip road on Johnstown Road. It was said he may have misinterpreted the light.
One witness to the crash said she remembered thinking “Why is he trying to cross there?” at the time of the crash, before seeing his electrical bicycle “flying up in the air” and the cyclist being “projected” through the junction before landing on his head.
Another witness recalled that Elliot received medical treatment from passersby while they waited for an ambulance to arrive, with the cyclist having received serious injuries to his head.
The driver of the white car said she had “no time to react” and braked “as soon as I saw him”.
Her vision of the e-cyclist was obscured by the cars in the right-turn lane, but she was travelling within the 80km/h speed limit towards a junction at which the lights were “fully green”.
Cullinane issued her “very deepest condolences” to the family who lost their son and brother in an “instant”.