Council to investigate latest carp park crash

Seamus Enright & Damian McCarney

Cavan County Council is to examine the circumstances surrounding an incident in Cavan Town on Monday afternoon (September 8) in which a unmanned, parked van freewheeled and crashed into the front of the local National Driver Licence Service (NDLS) office, injuring a number of people who were taken to Cavan General Hospital for treatment. It is one the most serious of many anecdotal incidents involving parked cars rolling into other vehicles or premises on the sloped carpark at Tesco in the town centre.
Gardaí have spoken with the owner of the van, which rolled into the front of the premises at Main Street shortly after 1.30pm. No-one was seriously injured as a result of the incident, but five people at the scene, including the three NDLS staff, were given first aid before being transferred to the hospital as a precautionary measure. It’s understood that the vehicle’s handbrake may have failed and this will form part of both the Garda and local authority investigation.

Closure

The NDLS office remained closed on Tuesday, with the Road Safety Authority (RSA) noting that anyone planning to visit the Cavan NDLS centre over the coming days are advised to regularly check the NDLS website in advance for information about the expected re-opening date.
“We would ask that any customers who are planning a walk-in visit to the Cavan NDLS centre do not attend the centre today as we work to resume normal services as quickly as possible.
“We would like to thank our customers for their patience,” read the RSA website.
Among those first on the scene on Monday afternoon were local traffic warden, George Leinster and staff from the neighbouring Tesco store.
Gary Boss, manager at the retail outlet, attended with two store staff trained in first aid.
“We did everything we could to support the people there and those injured,” he told the Celt. “We became aware something had happened fairly quickly and were there soon after. We did what we could to help out.”

Praise

He was quick to praise staff within the damaged NDLS Centre next door, who he described as “brilliant” in their management of the the chaotic scene, not to mention Mr Leinster, for his quick response also.
“They were taking care of people. George (Leinster) who looks after the car park was on the scene as a first responder, so there were a good three or four people there giving assistance to people. When the emergency services arrived, we let them take control,” said Mr Boss.

Garda reports

The aftermath of the incident has left the local authority now considering ways to avoid such incidents in the future.
Ger Finn, acting CEO of Cavan County Council, said that gardaí only make the local authority aware of what are regarded as “serious incidents”, admitting that the slope on this car park is a potential contributory factor to “tips”.
Asked if they will consider carrying out any remedial action, Mr Finn said: “We will look at it in the event of this incident.”
But noting the gradient of the slope, he added: “There isn’t an awful lot you can do in a carpark like that because the buildings around it are built to suit those contours.”
Mr Finn said that they may try to notify motorists using the carpark to ensure their handbrakes are activated.