A Garda inspector who examined the scene of an accident in Co Limerick in which a Garda and a fireman were killed has given evidence at the trial of the man accused of causing their deaths.
Inspector Michael Reddy said that the Audi car that 20-year-old Niall Shannon of Ballylongford, Co Kerry, was driving was travelling at a speed of 60-71km/h at the time of impact.
Mr Shannon denies causing the deaths of Garda Brian Kelleher, and fireman Michael Liston during a traffic accident outside Foynes on 25 February 2007.
Inspector Reddy, who is attached to the public service vehicle section of An Garda Síochána, carried out an inspection of the accident site at Barrigone and also examined the cars involved in the collision.
He said Garda Kelleher was projected a distance of 30.8m when he was hit by the Audi car, which was driven by the accused.
He said the car's estimated speed when it struck Garda Kelleher was a conservative estimate based on measurements and tests he carried out.
He said it was not possible to calculate the speed of the vehicle when it struck Mr Liston because his flight path was interrupted when he struck another fireman.
He said given the distances between the Garda warning lights and the crash scene, an alert driver operating with normal reaction times would have been able to bring a vehicle to a stop even if it was travelling at 148km/h.
He said he believed the two worn front tyres on the Audi vehicle were not a contributory factor in the crash.
Earlier, he told the trial there was evidence of pedestrian impact on the left and right headlamp sides of the car.
On the right side of the car the pedestrian impact left a damaged profile on the car's bonnet and windscreen.
There was what he described as 'head strike' damage to the windscreen that had been shattered, and which was particularly heavily damaged as a result of a high level impact.
In relation to the second pedestrian, he said there was evidence of blood and body tissue on the left hand side of the car.
The speedometer in the car was not working, the two front tyres were excessively worn, and fourth gear had been engaged at the time of the impact.
But otherwise he said the car was in good condition, and he said he found no factors that could have contributed to the accident.
