THE family of a holidaymaker who died after falling from the balcony of an Ibiza hotel have thanked the community for their ‘incredible support’ following the tragedy.
John McKenna, 22, sustained an ‘unsurvivable’ head injury and died after jumping between third floor balconies at a hotel in San Antonio, Ibiza, on June 23 last year.
At an inquest held into his death on Thursday, Mr McKenna’s mum, Sandra McKenna said he was a ‘genuine lad’ who ‘lived life to the full’. He had the ability to ‘light up the room’ with his bright smile.
He had a love for football and he played for Scotby FC. The club said it had ‘lost a legend and an even better person’.
Mrs McKenna said: “Following the accident, we were in shock. Now we have had time to reflect, we would like to thank the community for their incredible support following John’s passing.”
Cockermouth Coroners’ Court heard that 22 trees had been planted at Scotby FC in Mr McKenna’s memory – a tree for each year of his life.
Thousands of pounds have been raised for Jack the Lad, a charity which campaigns for safer holidays abroad for the UK’s young people.
A minute’s silence was held at Carlisle United following Mr McKenna’s death and his mum said he would have been ‘so proud’. Watching Carlisle United get promoted at Wembley was the best time of his life, the inquest heard.
Mr McKenna, who lived in Crosby-on-Eden, had attended William Howard School and left with good exam results. He qualified as an electrician in 2022.
Mrs McKenna said their family would ‘always remember the love and support given by the community’ following their son’s death.
Mr McKenna had been on holiday in Ibiza with his friends and was staying at the Azuline Hotel. At 10:45 on June 23, 2023, his death was reported after he fell from a third floor balcony.
A witness reported seeing a man jumping from one balcony to another. Mr McKenna was given assistance but was declared dead at the scene.
The inquest heard Mr McKenna had been unable to get into his room and had been jumping from one balcony to another to gain access. The railing on the balcony was ‘easily overcome’.
A post-mortem carried out in Ibiza found alcohol, ketamine, MDMA and cocaine in Mr McKenna’s system. After Mr McKenna’s body was repatriated, a further post-mortem was carried out, which corroborated these findings.
A CT scan was also carried out which showed a complex skull fracture and a brain injury. The cause of death was a head injury.
Kirsty Gomersal, area coroner for Cumbria, found the combination of the substances taken would have affected Mr McKenna’s coordination and his approach to risk.
Ms Gomersal concluded that Mr McKenna died by misadventure.
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