A number of people on board wanted the driver to turn around and go to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, but the driver thought it best to continue to Mosney
Sadly, 35-year-old Maureen Sedi, a native of Nigeria passed away. A number of people on board wanted the driver to turn around and go to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, but the driver thought it best to continue to Mosney.
Ms Sedi, who was a resident at Mosney Village, and mother of three, had run to catch the bus on the Dublin Road in Drogheda on November 30, 2022. She had a history of heart problems.
In depositions, three passengers told how she had been out of breath and got on the bus gasping around 1.45pm.
She was sitting on the steps and the driver told her to sit down on one of the seats as she couldn’t stay where she was. The woman sat down on the left hand side of the bus in the fourth row.
However, Ms Sedi became breathless before reaching the Southgate roundabout.
Another woman on the bus went to her assistance.
“I turned and shouted to the driver that we needed to turn around and head to the hospital,” she said.
“The driver insisted he was going to go to Mosney.”
A lady rang 999 and asked for an ambulance. The phone was put on speakerphone.
“They asked us to lay her flat on her back on the floor of the bus. We put her on the floor of the bus.”
The late Maureen Sedi.
Two passengers performed CPR. One estimated they were doing it for 15 minutes. By the time they got to Mosney an ambulance had arrived and it took over.
In his deposition, the driver of the 53-seater coach said that it had no CCTV.
As he came up to the stop opposite St Mary’s Hospital, near The Railway Tavern, he could see a lady walking up with her friend. She was carrying bags and appeared to be tired, out of breath.
“As the bus was passing Glanbia Dairies on the Dublin Road, I was asked to pull over by one of the passengers. I pulled in and got out of my seat and asked what was wrong.
“It was quarter to two so the school traffic was heavy. I took the decision to drive to Mosney as I would get there quicker (than the hospital) and there are medics on site.”
He said the woman was still seated and there were passengers around her.
“I started the bus and I drove towards Mosney as quick as possible. It takes about ten minutes to Mosney from where the bus was stopped. It would have taken easily half an hour to get to the hospital at that time.”
He said company policy when someone was sick on a bus was to see if they needed medical attention and if there were injuries to phone the boss or an ambulance.
“I didn’t phone an ambulance on the day and my thoughts were to get to Mosney as quick as possible as there is medical staff there.”
The inquest heard that Ms Sedi was transported to the Emergency Department of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in cardiac arrest. Resuscitative efforts were unsuccessful and she was pronounced dead that afternoon.
At a reconvened inquest in Ardee Courthouse, coroner Ronan Maguire said that Ms Sedi had had a heart attack previously.
Three minutes into the bus journey she was in serious distress and had to lie on the floor.
If the driver had made a 999 call he would have been advised on what to do. He didn’t and went on to Mosney.
Mr Maguire continued that the reality was the bus was “not a million miles away” from Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital from where the ambulance would have come.
He said he didn’t know if the woman would have survived had she received immediate medical attention.
Solicitor Catherine Taaffe, who represented the bus driver, said that he could not make phone calls while driving.
Mr Maguire pointed out that the bus company’s own rules said that the driver should check if anyone needed medical attention.
Ms Taaffe asked the coroner to record a verdict of death by natural causes.
However, Mr Maguire returned a narrative verdict of sudden cardiac death with the primary cause myocardial fibrosis and ischemic heart disease.
He extended sympathy to Maureen Sedi’s family who were represented by solicitor Gerard Cullen.
Mr Maguire added she was “so young”, and obviously had heart problems before, and had a previous episode.
Sympathy was also expressed by Ms Taaffe and by barrister Eoghan Casey on behalf of An Garda Síochána.
Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme
Maureen Sedi
News in 90 Seconds – July 22nd