Family wipeout crash is linked to uncut hedges

Date Published: 14-Jun-2007

Uncut hedges at the side of the road which obscured road signs were a contributory factor in a horror crash which wiped out a young family of three last July, an inquest into their deaths has been told.Following a Garda report critical of the road signage and obstructed view on the approach to Lodge Cross on the Craughwell to Athenry Road, the Coroner for East Galway, Dr. Richard Joyce, said on Monday that it had been alarming to hear the Garda findings that the junction and road approach had not been maintained as it should.The inquest jury called on the County Council and the NRA to review road signage in the County as a priority, and said that safety of humans should be a priority instead of animal welfare. This was a reference to the fact that under the Wildlife Act hedges are left grow in order to protect nesting birds in the summer months.