By Cronan Scanlon

The husband of a Strabane woman has told a Donegal inquest into her death that he attached no blame for the tragedy.

The Strabane pensioner who was struck by her husband's car while she prayed at the spot where her neighbour was killed two days earlier, Letterkenny Coroner's Court heard yesterday.

Ellen (Nellie) Doherty (78) from Derry Road, Strabane died while being airlifted to hospital following a tragic accident at Barnes Mor Gap, near Ballybofey on June 13, 2006.

An emotional Mr Doherty stressed that he was not attaching any blame to anyone for the death of Nellie whom he described as "the best person in the world".

"We were together for 55 years and I am living on my own now.

"Only me, my family and close neighbours and friends know what I'm going through every day," Mr Doherty said.

"I trust in God that Nellie is happy in heaven and that one day I will be allowed by God to join her there. It is very hard for me to understand that my car done all the damage to my beloved wife," he concluded.

The Court heard, Ms Doherty and her husband Laurence decided to stop to say prayers at the scene of a motorcycle accident which claimed the life of a Strabane man John Barr.

They were on their way to 7.30pm Mass in the Friary in Rossnowlagh when the accident happened.

Mr Doherty parked their Suzuki car on a hard shoulder on the opposite side of the road to which they were travelling and let his wife out.

However, he thought it safer if he parked on the side of the road on which he had originally been travelling.

Mr Doherty said he checked his mirrors and activated his hazards lights. He could not see any car coming and proceeded to drive slowly across the road.

Unknown to him, another car driven by Meath man Patrick Herrity was approaching from the Ballybofey direction and struck his car.

The impact, Mr Doherty said, forced his car back across the road to where his wife was standing and pushed her against a crash barrier.

Mr Herrity told the Court he was travelling with his wife Carol from Ballybofey at around 90 kph when he noticed the Doherty's car parked on the other side of the road facing in the direction of Donegal Town.

He said that "without signal or warning" the other car crossed in front of him and he tried as much as he could to avoid it.

His car struck the passenger side of Mr Doherty's car and, he said, the Strabane man's car veered across the road and pushed the deceased against the crash barrier.

In his deposition, which was read to the Court, Mr Doherty said they were on their way to Mass in Rossnowlagh and decided to stop and pray at the spot where Mr Barr was killed.

He said his hazards lights were on and, when he felt it was safe, he drove across the road and felt a collision.

He said the force of the collision forced his car in the direction where his wife was standing before striking her.

He said he got out of the car and went over to his badly injured wife and gave her his rosary beads.

Two off duty doctors and two off duty nurses arrived on the scene simultaneously and treated Mrs Doherty until an ambulance arrived.

Mr Doherty was taken to Letterkenny by ambulance while his wife was airlifted to hospital due to the extent of her injuries.

He stressed that he could not see any other car approaching when he decided to cross the road.

"It was my car that done all the damage to my beloved wife," an emotional Mr Doherty told the Court.

Pathologist, Dr Gerry O'Dowd, told the court he carried out a post mortem on Ms Doherty the following day.

He said her death was due to a "marked loss of blood" as well as severe injuries to her lower limbs as a result of a road traffic accident.

Coroner, Mr Sean Cannon, described Mrs Doherty's death as a tragic loss of life while she paid her respects to her neighbour.

"It was an incredible, tragic coincidence that she died while reflecting on the death of a neighbour," Mr Cannon said.

Mr Doherty stood up and addressed the Court at the end of the hearing and thanked the gardai and the emergency services for "doing everything humanly possible" for his wife before she died.

The jury concurred with the medical evidence given by the Pathologist.