Professor tells jury driver in fatal crash could have been in and out of consciousness due to low glucose levels

A professor who specialises in treating diabetes has told a jury that the driver of a car could have been in and out of consciousness due to low glucose levels when he caused a fatal car accident on a Dublin motorway.

Gerry Daly (57) from Derby Lodge, Brownstown, the Curragh, Co Kildare, pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to dangerous driving causing the death of Jacqueline Griffin (39) at junction five of the M50 on January 24th, 2019.

The jury heard on Thursday from Sergeant Patrick McElroy, who at the time was a forensic collision investigator.

Reading from his report, he outlined that three vehicles were involved and multiple barriers were struck. He said Mr Daly’s car “mounted the kerbside” and then made contact with the rear of a Scania lorry. The car then collided with the rear of Ms Griffin’s VW Polo.

The jury heard force of this impact threw Ms Griffin into the back of her car and she sustained catastrophic injuries.

It was his evidence that Mr Daly’s car was travelling at a speed of somewhere between 138-151km/h per hour at the time of the accident.

Garda Aidan McHugh gave evidence that he interviewed Mr Daly by appointment on January 28th, 2019.

He described the day of the accident as getting up in the morning, checking his blood sugar levels, what he had to eat and his morning at work.

The court heard that Mr Daly had a phone call with a colleague at 10.30am on the morning of the fatal accident. He described his phone call as “cloudy” in his interview with gardai. He said he left his place of work and “ended up on the M50?.

He described the weather on the day as being bad and said he “couldn’t get off the M50 and that he hit a barrier”.

When the crash occurred, Mr Daly thought his car was on fire as there was a lot of smoke. Paramedics arrived at the scene and gave him glucose. He was taken to Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown.

Mr Daly told gardai that he held a full Irish driving licence, and his insurer was aware of his diabetes.

Gda McHugh asked Mr Daly if he remembered driving at high speed on the M50, to which he replied: “I remember driving erratically but not sure where.”

Prof Simon Heller, a professor at Sheffield University with a clinical practice in the English city, is a specialist in the treatment of diabetes, with an interest in hypoglycaemia.

He told the jury that the normal levels of blood sugar for people with Type 1 diabetes is between 4-8.

Garnet Orange SC, prosecuting, asked Prof Heller if the onset of a “hypo event” would have warning signs, to which he replied, “Yes, at the lower range of four, the body would release stress hormones and adrenaline. This would cause the body to sweat and have a pounding heart”. He noted that these symptoms can diminish over time, and other symptoms described as “not feeling right and blurred vision” could occur.

The court heard that Mr Daly uses an app on his phone and a sensor on his arm to check his blood sugar levels.

Prof Heller said he studied the data from his app and said that when Mr Daly checked his blood sugar levels upon waking, they were 9.3, which he said is “just above normal”. When Mr Daly arrived at work, he checked the levels again, and they were 7.3 and 7.0, which are normal levels.

Prof Heller said the glucose levels dropped again to 5.2 later in the morning but said this is still within the normal level. By 9.30am, the levels had reached 3.3.

At this level, Mr Daly would be cognitively impaired, said Prof Heller.

As Mr Daly drove on the M50, Prof Heller said his glucose was now well below what we would consider brain dysfunction, and said, “Mr Daly could have been in and out of consciousness”.

The trial continues before Judge Elma Sheahan on Monday.