A tragic father and son from Ramelton died after their car spun out of control on a part of the Derry road which not gritted.
John Gallagher, 55, and his son Sean, 24, were travelling to City of Derry Airport when the accident happened at Carnamaddy, Burt on January 30th, 2010.
Their Ford Mondeo hit an icy patch, spun around and then careered into the path of an oncoming car, an inquest had heard.
A father and his only son were killed in a head-on collision on an icy road last winter because part of a road they were travelling on was not gritted, an inquest has heard
Donegal coroner Dr John Madden said the men had suffered “unsurvivable” injuries. He offered sympathy to Mr Gallagher’s wife Hillary and daughters Aisling (23), Aoife (19) and Eilish (15).
The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.
Dr Madden said he would send a copy of the inquest report to Donegal County Council. “We have heard a lot about cutbacks in council budgets and road gritting is unfortunately one of the casualties,” he added.
“People should have a reasonable expectation that when they set out on a journey, the road will be fit for purpose.”
Mr Gallagher, who was originally from Arranmore Island, was well known in the local community.
The father and son were travelling to Derry Airport to leave Sean’s girlfriend back to England.
She only discovered the awful tragedy when she landed.
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