Four-and-a-half years after 55-year-old Mitchell Ryan was killed in a hit-and-run in Cayman Brac, an official ruling of death by misadventure has finally been recorded.
An inquest determined that a car ran Ryan over as he was lying in the road outside a bar while heavily under the influence of alcohol. The reason he was in the road is not clear.
The driver, who has not yet been identified, was unlikely to have seen him because the car suspension had been lowered, headlights were on low beam and street lighting was poor.
They were also likely to have been intoxicated because the driver took an excessive amount of time to stop after running over Ryan, dragging his body 56 feet along the road.
In addition, the car’s brakes were in a terrible condition, according to an independent investigator, the tyres were worn, and the vehicle ultimately should not have been in use.
Six members of the victim’s family attended the coroner’s inquest at the Aston Rutty Centre in in Cayman Brac on Thursday, 17 Aug., in the hope of getting some long-awaited answers.
Magistrate Angelyn Hernandez led the public hearing which featured evidence from expert witnesses, a visit to the scene and questions from the family and the seven-member jury.
After the jury reached its verdict, she told the family it “does not in any way trivialise what has happened”, and added it was a “horrible accident”.
Ryan’s sister Myra Ryan-Ebanks told the Compass that she “fully understands” how and why the verdict was reached but said she and her family are still not satisfied.
“We definitely need somebody to take responsibility,” she said, adding that they will be taking further steps to get more answers and some level of closure.
Crush injuries
On 21 March 2019, sometime between 9:30pm to 10pm, Mitchell Ryan went to La Esperanza bar on Watering Place Road.
A bartender at the establishment said in a statement to Police Constable Donovan Chong that she served Ryan three beers and he was sitting in the corner “so calm”.
She saw him in the bar as she left to go home at about 1am, and the owner of the bar also told the police that he saw Ryan around then. It was the last time he was seen alive.
At about 3:15am a woman who had been undergoing treatment at Faith Hospital saw what she thought was a box in the road and drove on, she told police – but it was Ryan’s body.
Pathologist Dr. Kimone Fraser described massive injuries that were detailed in an autopsy report, adding they were “consistent with crush injuries” and the victim would have died instantly.
She also said his blood alcohol level was “significant” at .293%, which could cause impaired coordination and decision making, and could result in a stupor or a coma.
Inspector Kevin Bogle, who was the commander in charge of Cayman Brac at the time of Ryan’s death, told the court he arrived at the scene at about 3:45am.
He saw that officers had spray-painted the outline and number plate of a car that had stopped after coming across Ryan’s body on the ground, but allowed it to leave the scene.
During his investigations, the inspector attempted to locate CCTV footage of the incident and made door-to-door inquiries.
There was no footage of the exact area of Ryan’s death, but he determined the car that hit him was a Honda Civic – the same as the car that had stopped at the scene.
Two denials
Police located the car and spoke to the owner, who had been washing it. He said he had lent it to a friend that evening and afterwards had a “stench” coming from the air conditioning.
Both the owner and his friend, who had been drinking that evening, denied hitting Ryan, but the friend said she was the one who came across the body in the road and had called 911.
They were each in turn arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving but later released.
Inspector Lenford Butler on giving his evidence said it was clear from examination of the car that Ryan had been lying prone in the road when he was hit.
He also said the car had a lowered suspension and low beams which would have reduced visibility in front of the vehicle from 130-150 feet to 50-75 feet.
The officer said that was compounded by the “poor” general visibility in that area of the road due to lack of street lamps and a tree blocking the available light.
But he stressed that “any person who is sober” would have known they had run over someone in the road, adding, “They would have heard something and they would have stopped.”
Independent crash analyst Collin Redden agreed that the area was poorly lit, the car headlight beams were lower than usual and Ryan was lying prone when hit.
He added that the brakes, steering and tyres were all in bad condition, the car “shouldn’t have been on the road”, and if the driver was drunk their reaction times would be low.
Limited actions
On guiding the jury on their verdict, Hernandez said they needed to decide whether the cause of death was misadventure or unlawful killing, and reminded them of the evidence.
Hernandez said the reason the case took more than four years to arrive in the coroner’s court was because police needed the opportunity to complete criminal investigations.
But, she said, the standard of proof is one beyond reasonable doubt and that could not be determined in this case.
After a short period of consideration, the jury delivered a majority verdict of misadventure.
Hernandez told the family the verdict “does not in any way trivialise what has happened to Mr. Ryan” but said the coroner’s court is limited in its actions.
“I hope what you got from the exercise today, was additional information to assist you in whatever other direction you may want to go.”
She added: “It was a horrible accident and I extend my deepest condolences to you all.”
Speaking to the Compass outside the court following the verdict, Ryan’s sister Marcia Scott said this will not be the end of investigations into her brother’s death.
“We will be pursuing other avenues to get some justice for him. The way he was killed – some justice needs to be done,” she said.
Ryan’s wife Irma Ryan, stepson Jesse Maybeth and niece Sasha Conolly all agreed that they were not satisfied with the verdict and they want the person who killed Ryan to be found.
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