A bin lorry driver who struck a pedestrian, trapping her under the wheel of his truck and leaving her needing six months of hospital treatment, had his jail sentence overturned on appeal.
The man’s two-year driving disqualification was upheld, however, despite arguments from defence counsel that this would mean their client losing his job.
Cosmin Stana (49) with an address at Castlecurragh Heath, Mulhuddart, Dublin 15, had pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm under Section 53 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961 in the District Court. He was sentenced to four months in jail and was disqualified from driving for two years.
Garda Padraig Power told the District Court Appeals Court on Thursday that he arrived on the scene on the Shackleton Road, Celbridge, Co Kildare, on September 22nd, 2022, to discover a woman had been struck and knocked down by a bin truck.
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CCTV of the incident showed a Thorntons Recycling bin truck slowing down but failing to stop and colliding with a pedestrian at the intersection on Shackleton Road.
Garda Power described Mr Stana as “genuinely remorseful”, “very helpful”, and said the appellant accepted that the injuries were very severe.
Defence counsel for Mr Stana, Grainne Berkery BL, told the sentence appeal that in the “split second” incident Mr Stana “just didn’t see” the injured party and felt huge remorse for what happened.
A human resources representative from Thorntons Recycling was also present in court in support of Mr Stana, who was described as a “valued member of staff”.
Having heard the submissions, Judge Fiona O’Sullivan decided to suspend Mr Stana’s four-month custodial sentence in its entirety for a period of four months and imposed a fine of €1,500 to be paid in a period of 12 months.
However, the judge did not lift Mr Stana’s disqualification from driving for two years.
The judge said that although she had considered removing the disqualification, she found Mr Stana’s failure to see the victim was a serious failure with extremely serious consequences and this was a matter which would normally merit a custodial sentence.
