A judge has praised the generosity of a man who said he did not want to see the 25-year-old man responsible for the death of his wife in a car crash going to jail, as there had been enough suffering already.
Judge Patrick Moran said Joe Le Blanc had shown great generosity towards Paul O'Mahony, Innishannon, Co Cork, following the death of his wife, Goretti Le Blanc (52), also from Innishannon, on October 22nd, 2004.
O'Mahony had pleaded guilty at Cork Circuit Criminal Court yesterday to dangerous driving causing the death of Ms Le Blanc and was facing the possibility of going to jail when Mr Le Blanc said he and his two children did not want to see him jailed.
Judge Moran said: "This is a difficult time on Irish roads with a lot of accidents due to speed and other factors. I accept there was not any drink involved or anything like that. Mr Le Blanc is very generous towards you [ O'Mahony].
"He does not wish me to impose a custodial sentence. That is particularly generous in the climate we are in at the moment. This is the kind of offence that deserves a prison sentence," he said, imposing a €7,500 fine and a 10-year driving ban.
Garda Robert Brosnan said weather conditions were atrocious on the day of the accident and while O'Mahony wasn't breaking the speed limit, he was going too fast for the conditions at the time.
O'Mahony was on the inside of two lanes going towards Bandon when he lost control of his 4X4 jeep at a bend and it spun around, crossing the outer lane and into the path of Ms Le Blanc's oncoming car.