A father-of-five who ran over a man as he was pulling out of a driveway has been fined €3,000 and banned from driving for four years.
Paul Kelly (42) left Daniel Ryan (60) with life changing injuries when he hit him as he was pulling out onto an unlit roadway beside Dublin Airport.
Mr Ryan had multiple fractures to his abdomen and limbs and also suffered a pulmonary embolism in his lung.
He remained in hospital for a number of weeks and can no longer participate in the sports he previously enjoyed like golf, cycling and hill walking. He also gave up his part-time job.
Kelly, a mechanic, of Shanliss Road, Santry, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to driving without due care and attention thereby causing serious bodily harm on October 26th, 2016. He has no previous convictions.
Garda Philip Murray told the court Mr Ryan had dropped someone to a match at the Ballymun Kickhams GAA club and decided to go for a walk by the airport.
The garda accepted that the road Mr Ryan was walking on, Collinstown Lane, had no street lighting but Mr Ryan carried a torch with him.
Mr Ryan heard Kelly’s car coming towards him out of a driveway and shouted stop but he was knocked down and the car drove over him.
Gda Murray said Kelly felt the bump and immediately pulled over and contacted the emergency services. He remained at the scene until the gardaí arrived, passed a breath test and his car was taxed and insured.
Mr Ryan was taken to hospital where he was in an induced coma for two days. His victim impact report stated that he suffers panic attacks, nightmares, flash backs and has trouble sleeping since the accident.
He said he felt he had aged because of his injuries and consequential restricted mobility.
Garda Murray agreed with David Staunton BL, defending, that Kelly "co-operated fully from start to finish" and had expressed concern for Mr Ryan. He accepted that Mr Ryan was walking by the driveway and the manner in which Kelly drove out of the driveway did not give him the opportunity to see the pedestrian.
Mr Staunton said it was “singular and momentary lapse of judgement” by his client. “He failed to pay the necessary attention for a split second which had a life changing impact on the victim,” Mr Staunton said.
Judge Melanie Greally said it was "a cautionary tale to all drivers that lapses of this nature are not tolerable" but accepted that Kelly behaved in a responsible way in the immediate aftermath and had since demonstrated remorse for his actions.
The judge said due to the lighting conditions Mr Ryan was not a conspicuous person on the pathway at the the time of the collision but said “the manner of Kelly’s driving required greater care and attention”.
Judge Greally gave Kelly 12 months to pay a €3,000 fine and disqualified him from driving for four years.