Woman's death caused by wheel bearing failure, inquest told

Shauna McDevitt, a 47-year-old mother of one, died after the incident near Toomebridge on 10 April 2022

A wheel that fell from a tanker lorry and collided with a car, killing a Londonderry mother as she travelled home from a concert, was caused by a bearing failure, an inquest has heard.

Shauna McDevitt, a 47-year-old mother of one, died after the incident near Toomebridge on 10 April 2022.

She had been travelling home from a Little Mix concert with her partner, Declan Campbell, and their son.

A forensic scientist told the inquest, sitting in Coleraine on Friday, that the direct cause of the incident was a bearing failure, which led to the wheel falling off the lorry and subsequently colliding with the vehicle Ms McDevitt was in.

'So sad for the family'

Independent experts also determined that the lorry had a number of defects in its brakes and suspension, which meant it wasn't roadworthy.

Following the incident, the Donegal-based haulage company had its licence removed by the Minister for Transport in the Republic of Ireland.

The company's director, Ivor Reilly, and driver, Mark Atkinson, were fined more than £5,000 for defects on the vehicle at a previous court hearing last year.

Giving evidence at the inquest, Mark Atkinson confirmed he was interviewed by police about the incident.

He told them he had no knowledge of the incident and had not heard any noise.

He said he was devastated by what had happened and said it was "so sad for the family".

"It's just dreadful, dreadful," he said.

Mr Atkinson said he believed there had been no defects on the vehicle.

He said he thought, from looking at the damage, that "it looked like a bearing collapse".

He said it was his understanding that there had been an upgrade to the vehicle, with new bearings and brakes fitted.

He said he had stopped working for the company since March after its haulage licence was revoked.

Mr Reilly, told the inquest the family business was started in 1962 and it was the first time there had been a fatality in 60 years.

He said there were no issues with the lorry on the night in question and no problems were raised with him.

He said the vehicle would have been checked regularly every 12 or 13 weeks.

Mr Reilly said components were refurbished and re-fitted, although he had not personally seen those bearings as he was not there when the work was carried out.

The inquest heard that the vehicle did not have a certificate of roadworthiness at the time and that neither the Road Safety Authority in the Republic of Ireland or the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) in Northern Ireland had a record of the lorry on their respective databases.

Mr Reilly confirmed that he had been convicted of a number of vehicle defects and that his haulage licence was withdrawn.

What happened?

On 10 April 2022 at about 23:00 GMT a tanker lorry was travelling on the A6 towards Belfast, when a wheel came off the vehicle.

It struck the car Ms McDevitt was travelling in, causing the roof to collapse inwards which fatally injured her.

Ms McDevitt and Mr Campbell's 10-year-old son, who was in the back seat, was covered in glass and suffered a chest scar. Mr Campbell was not physically injured.

Mr Atkinson and the owner of the lorry have expressed their deepest sympathies to the McDevitt family circle.

Their barrister had described it as a "freak, tragic accident" and said there was genuine remorse because the wheel had somehow become dislodged and caused the accident.

The judge at that time of the criminal case said it was a tragic event.

The inquest continues.