M6 Wrong Way Driver had been Drinking

Two motorists were killed in a head-on-collision on the M6 motorway when one of them drove the wrong way in the fast lane. Offaly Coroner Brian Mahon called this incident the “ultimate nightmare” for a driver during the inquest into the death of 66-year-old Helen Gonoude. The woman had visited the home of her son in Rochfortbridge before the incident.

It was heard by the inquest that Mrs Gonoude had an alcohol level of moderate-to-high when she travelled about 8km the wrong way down the fast lane of the M6 Dublin to Galway motorway. Although several attempts were made by other motorists and gardai to halt her progress, the woman continued down the motorway until she crashed head-on with another driver on June 28 between Junctions 6 and 7 near Moate. Delia Flaherty, a 30-something-year-old from Galway, was the motorist in the second car. She died three days after the collision on July 1 at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin.

Joe Gonoude, the wrong way driver’s son, told gardai that it was his mum’s first time driving to his house. She had left there around 1:40pm, and it’s believed she missed her exit and wound up in Athlone. It was here that she joined the motorway going the wrong way at Garrycastle.

The inquest heard that Sarah Brennan was travelling on the M6 on the Dublin side of Athlone around 2:30pm when she saw a blue vehicle driving towards her in the overtaking lane at about 100kph. She said the woman driving didn’t brake, slow down or look up at her despite her taking evasive action and beeping her car horn.

Also on the M6 was Garda Elaine Conlon, who suddenly noticed cars braking in front of her. The cars were attempting to avoid an oncoming car that had slowed because of heavy traffic. She ran to Mrs Gonoude’s window and banged on it, telling her to stop. However, the woman didn’t make contact with her when she looked up; she just continued driving.

Garda Eva O’Connor was also in the area when a call was put in about the incident. She dove down the M6 with her blue lights flashing until the vehicle approached. She stopped, exited her vehicle and signalled for the motorists to stop. However, the driver wasn’t slowing down as they got closer, and the lady drove around her without even looking at her.

William and Elizabeth McGuinness were in a lorry just over half a kilometre away and driving towards Athlone around 2:40pm. Mrs McGuinness told gardai that she saw a car overtake them on the right lane, and the next thing she knew was both vehicles colliding head-on, seemingly jumping in the air. Mr McGuinness put out a fire in Mrs Gonoude’s vehicle with an extinguisher and then went into the rear of the second car to comfort Ms Flaherty until the ambulance got to the scene.

Mrs Gonoude and Ms Flaherty were both taken to Midland Regional Hospital at Tullamore. Mrs Gonoude was pronounced dead upon arrival, and Ms Flaherty was transferred to Beaumont Hospital. Pathologist Dr Miriam Walshe conducted a post mortem examination on Mrs Gonoude and found that her blood alcohol level could have contributed to the incident, as it was high enough to affect driving ability.

Coroner Mahon has instructed the jurors to only consider the facts and medical evidence, rather than think about who is to blame. He pointed out that Mrs Gonoude seems to have never driven on a motorway before and appeared to be unable to comprehend the extremely dangerous situation she was in.