A MAGUIRESBRIDGE man died after sustaining “severe head injuries” when the jeep he was driving collided with a lorry at a well-known accident blackspot south of Newtownbutler just over a year ago, a Coroner has ruled.

The inquest into the death of Declan Martin Butler (32), from Parkhill, heard how he “lost control” of his father’s silver Hyundai Tucson as he negotiated a left-hand bend on Wattlebridge Road at around 1.35pm on December 2, 2014.

After crossing the central white line of the road, the jeep collided with an oncoming red Scania lorry and trailer, which was loaded with between 10,000 and 12,000kgs of sawdust.

Mr Butler, who worked for Quinn Glass, died at the scene several hours later as a result of his extensive injuries.

Several witnesses told the hearing, held in Enniskillen courthouse on Tuesday, that the road had been wet on the day of the fatal collision, with a “low winter sun” affecting visibility by causing light to reflect off the water on the carriageway.

Meanwhile, in his evidence, Padraig Foley, who had been driving towards Newtownbutler when he came across the crash scene, said: “I would like to add that I know this corner and how dangerous it is.”

During cross-examination by Coroner Suzanne Anderson, Mr Foley said he had been driving a long time and had an idea of how the collision had occurred. He told the inquest that there had been a few accidents along that stretch of road and that his best friend had been killed there in 1988.

The driver of the lorry, Liam McDermott, recounted how he had swerved to the left in an effort to avoid a collision with the jeep, resulting in the heavy goods vehicle going over the verge of the road and ending up on its side in a field.

Asked by the Coroner to tell the hearing exactly what had happened, Mr McDermott said he had been driving to Newtownbutler when he saw the jeep come round the corner and lose control.

He described how the back of the jeep “went sideways” and he could see the driver making efforts to correct it.

Mr McDermott told the inquest that he had swerved to the left hand side of the road to avoid hitting the jeep, adding that he couldn’t stop the lorry from falling after the collision occurred.

He said that he felt the jeep had been going “very hard”, but after he was asked by the Coroner if he meant “very fast”, the lorry driver replied that he did not see the jeep before it had lost control and was unable to say what speed it was going at.

Questioned by his solicitor Brian Charity over whether he had been prosecuted in relation to the crash, Mr McDermott confirmed that he hadn’t.

A forensic scientist, who analysed the crash scene and prepared a report, told the hearing that he hadn’t been able to establish the speed of the Hyundai jeep, admitting that the circumstances made it “very difficult to determine”.

Giving evidence from Belfast via videolink, Emerson Callender, of Forensic Science Northern Ireland, agreed with the Coroner’s assessment that, on the balance of probabilities, the crash had been caused by a “combination of speed, driver input either through braking or steering, or both”.

When asked by the Coroner if they wished to say anything, a member of the deceased’s family told the inquest: “Declan was not a fast driver.”

Recalling the last time she saw her husband, Alina Butler said that she had left the house to go to work at 7.20am that morning.

In a statement, she outlined that Declan had told her that he was going to the gym and going to the market.

Mrs Butler stated that they had exchanged text messages throughout the morning. The last message she received from her husband, sent at 11.57am, said: “It’s all easy.”

Describing Declan as a “very friendly” person who loved joking around, she said that, on the day of the crash, he had been driving his father’s jeep, which he was used to, as his own van had broken down. She added that she thought he had been heading towards Clogher mart.

Mrs Butler, who was pregnant at the time of the fatal collision, also said that the couple’s second daughter, Adriana, had been born in March 2015.

After the Coroner Ms Anderson ruled that the deceased died as a result of severe head injuries sustained in the collision, she extended her deepest sympathies to Mr Butler’s widow and his wider family circle over his “untimely death”.