The tragic accident which led to the death of a 73-year-old man has been described by the coroner as an “accident waiting to happen” at his inquest.

The inquest was held in Omagh Courthouse on Tuesday where coroner, Joe McCriskin, found Robert Malone, of Skeoge Road, Brookeborough, was travelling on his bicycle to feed his pony when he was in an accident with a telehandler exiting a farmyard at around lunchtime on September 7, 2019. Mr. Malone subsequently died on September 11 in the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast.

Much of the inquest centred on the exit from the yard and lack of visibility the driver of the telehandler, Jonathan O’Malley, would have had as well as the safety of Mr. Malone who was not wearing a helmet and was described by witnesses as not being the most proficient of cyclists.

The inquest heard from Assistant State Pathologist, Dr. Peter Ingram, who found the cause of death to be pneumonia linked to fractures to Mr. Malone’s skull and brain stem injuries.

The post mortem also found that Mr. Malone had five rib fractures.

During the inquest, Mr. McCriskin questioned Dr. Ingram and Forensic Scientist, David Nicholson, on whether Mr. Malone had been wearing a helmet would the injuries have been less severe?

Both agreed that a helmet would have lessened the impact but Dr. Ingram said he did not know if it would have stopped the “fatal outcome”.

Mr. Nicholson in his evidence to the inquest said he could not determine if there was contact between Mr. Malone and his bike with the telehandler.

He did point out that for Mr. O’Malley to have a clear sight of the right-hand side of the road he would have to come out two metres into the road, which was over half the width of the carriageway.

Mr. O’Malley also gave evidence at the inquest along with neighbour James Watson who came to assist after the accident.

Mr. O’Malley said he had been farming his whole life and had been driving the telehandler for about nine years.

He said there had never been any near misses and before he left the witness box said he was “very sorry for everything” and he had deep sympathy for Mr. Malone’s family and was thinking of them.

Mr. Watson told the inquest that there were visibility issues coming out of his drive and that nothing had been done on the road since the accident.

He had lived on the road for 35 years and knew Mr. Malone. The inquest heard how he was alerted by his wife to the accident and went to help Mr. O’Malley.

Statement

Mr. Watson’s wife’s statement and one from Mr. Malone’s sister, Jean McElroy were also read out.

Mr. Malone’s sister’s statement detailed how she was informed about the accident by her daughter and when she got to the scene her brother was not responding and his eyes were rolling in his head.

Another witness, who helped at the scene, gave a statement to police saying Mr. O’Malley was “devastated” and that Mr. Malone’s cycling was “not great”.

In his findings, Mr. McCriskin found that more than likely there was contact between Mr. Malone and the telehandler and the cyclist’s attention was elsewhere as the telehandler exited the yard.

He commended those who came to the aid of Mr. Malone on the scene.

Mr. McCriskin added that the way out of the farm was “inherently dangerous” and was “an accident waiting to happen in some shape or form”.

The coroner said he would be writing to the Department for Infrastructure about the hazard posed on the Skeoge Road before adding that he hoped Mr. O’Malley could find “some degree of closure” from the inquest.

Mr. McCriskin ruled that Mr. Malone had died from pneumonia linked to associated brain fractures from the accident.