'OUTRAGEOUS'

Lawyer hits out at coroner over adjournment of crash inquest

- SEAN MCCARTHAIGH 

A LAWYER for relatives of a burglar killed in a road crash slammed a coroner’s treatment of his clients over an open-ended adjournment of their inquest to allow a garda to be prosecuted. 

Dr Clare Keane granted the adjournment at Dublin District Coroner’s Court yesterday.

It was after a representative of the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission said criminal proceedings were pending in the case.

However, solicitor Michael Finucane claimed Dr Keane, was “fundamentally in error” over the move to allow for the prosecution of a garda over the fatal incident.

He claimed the ruling was “utterly deficient” in terms of her obligation under the European Convention on Human Rights to monitor the progress of a criminal prosecution.

Dean Maguire, 29, Karl Freeman, 26, and 31-year-old Graham Taylor – were killed instantly when their BMW vehicle burst into flames.