Inquest jury delivers verdict after teenage newlyweds died during police chase
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Nearly two years to the day after the death of newlywed teenagers Patrick and Shauna Mcdonagh an inquest jury has delivered a verdict on their deaths.
19-year-old Mr McDonagh death was deemed to be by misadventure and 18-year-old Mrs Mcdonagh was found to have died as a result of a road traffic collision.
West London Coroner's Court heard how their Renault Megane collided with a coach on the A40 in Acton on 10 February 2019 at around 9pm killing Mr and Mrs McDonagh. Shauna McDonagh was pregnant when she died.
The couple were being pursued by police at the time. Their vehicle went past 57 vehicles while driving on the wrong side of the road. The court was told they were not wearing seatbelts when the collision occurred. Their vehicle caught fire and they were both pronounced dead at the scene. A second passenger, Michael McDonagh, was wearing a seatbelt and survived the crash. A large number of people travelling on the coach were checked by paramedics at the scene with two taken to hospital with minor injuries.
The police were pursuing the vehicle because they believed Mr McDonagh was linked to an armed robbery that had earlier taken place in Pinner. They started the chase when his vehicle was spotted jumping a red light near Eastcote Tube station. However, it later emerged that he had not been involved in the crime.
A police helicopter was called to aid the pursuit and helicopter footage shows the car weaving through traffic going passed the Polish War Memorial towards the Hanger Lane Gyratory reaching speeds in excess of 80mph. The crash occurred near Gypsy Corner with the vehicle on the wrong side of the road 20 minutes after the chase began. 10 minutes before the crash occurred the police had terminated the ground pursuit and the vehicle was being tracked from the air. It appeared that Mr Mcdonagh was attempting to cross to the other carriageway through a gap in the barrier.
The incident had already been investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) which found that the officers involved in the chase had acted appropriately.
IOPC Regional Director Sal Naseem said, “Our thoughts remain with all those affected by this tragic incident. We provided our investigation report to the MPS and HM Coroner when our investigation concluded in 2020 and we assisted the inquest by providing the evidence we gathered.
“It is important we establish all of the circumstances of fatal road traffic incidents involving the police when they happen.
“The available evidence was analysed in great detail in drawing our conclusion that there was no evidence to indicate that the police caused or contributed to the tragic deaths of Patrick and Shauna.
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February 11, 2021
