A Galway man whose dangerous driving caused the death of a Tuam-based veterinary surgeon had his two-year suspended sentence upheld by the Court of Criminal Appeal yesterday.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had argued the sentence was unduly lenient.
David Fox (20), Station Road, Oranmore, Galway, pleaded guilty last November to dangerous driving which caused Dara Halloran's death on a straight stretch of the N17 Galway to Sligo road last August. Fox had been driving a Peugeot diesel van the body of which had been customised with tinted glass and stickers.
When imposing a suspended two-year sentence and eight-year disqualification from driving last November, Judge Raymond Groarke said the deceased man's family, society or the accused would not benefit from a custodial sentence.
The deceased, 31 at the time and married with three children, died instantly when his car was spun into the path of an oncoming articulated lorry after the van being driven by the accused hit his car from behind, near Knockdoebeg West, Claregalway, on August 7th, 2004.
The DPP appealed against the leniency of the sentence and claimed that Fox had lied to gardaí about the fact that he was part of a four-car convoy of young male drivers travelling from Galway to Tuam on the night of the accident.
Mr Justice Brian McCracken, presiding at the three-judge court, said two of the four cars had sped off at high speeds from a pub car park but there was no evidence that Fox had attempted to follow them. He said there was no question of drugs or alcohol being involved and the accident had happened on a straight stretch of road.
He said Fox had purchased the van only 10 days before the accident and, although it looked like "a souped-up car", it had not been mechanically "souped up". This was a very unfortunate accident caused by Fox's misjudgment. The judge said the court felt the sentence was not unduly lenient and refused the DPP's appeal.
In a separate case yesterday, the Court of Criminal Appeal has imposed a three-year suspended sentence on a Co Roscommon man who killed two people in a road accident a week before Christmas in 2004.
Vincent McCormack (37), a production manager, from Kye, Elphin, was originally fined €2,000 and disqualified from driving for 10 years after he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the deaths of two people and to driving with excess alcohol on December 18th, 2004.
The DPP appealed yesterday to the Court Criminal Appeal against the leniency of the original sentence. The trial court was told that McCormack, a production manager at Kapok, Athleague, had attended his company's Christmas party, had slept for just one hour, completed a 12-hour shift and then went to a pub where he drank between three and four pints of Guinness.
McCormack's car collided with another car as he attempted to overtake it late at night and mother-of-three Teresa Smith (50), of Williamstown, Co Galway, and father-of-two Martin Connor (44), of Mantua, Co Roscommon, drowned when their car was forced off the road into a deep drain at Castleisland, Tulsk, Co Roscommon.