A DRUNKEN mother who knocked a pensioner down and left him to die on the side of the road moments after leaving a pub where she had been drinking for hours has been jailed.
Marie Melia (39), with addresses at Kilcahill, Claregalway and Tuam, pleaded guilty before Galway Circuit Criminal Court in May to driving dangerously and in a manner including speed which caused the death of Patrick Lynch (65) at Drumgriffin, Corrandulla, on August 3th, 2008.
Imposing a two-year sentence and a 12-year disqualification on Melia yesterday, Judge Raymond Groarke said this was an extremely tragic case.
He said the woman’s six children were now the innocent victims of her actions, just like Mr Lynch had been that night.
Det Insp Gerry Roche gave evidence that Mr Lynch had lived alone. Peggy’s pub was his local, where he socialised every night for company before walking a mile or so home.
He said Melia had been drinking in the same pub since 6pm with a man, and they left shortly after Mr Lynch had set off walking home at about 1.45am.
His badly injured body was found lying on the side of the road at 8.30am the following day, some 23 metres from where he had been hit.
Mr Lynch was still alive but he died shortly before 10am at the scene as an ambulance crew was preparing to take him to hospital.
In reply to Judge Groarke, Det Insp Roche said he believed it was highly unlikely Mr Lynch would have survived his extensive injuries even if Melia had stopped and helped him immediately after the impact.
The victim, he said, had stood in off the road on to a gravelled area in front of an old mill when he heard Melia’s car coming, but she had driven in on the gravel and hit him at between 50km/h and 60km/h.
He had been lying on the side of the road for six hours before a passing motorist found him the following morning.
Melia initially denied hitting anyone that night but later admitted she swerved in on the gravel to avoid an oncoming car and had hit something.
Eye-witnesses at Peggy’s pub said Melia had been drinking all evening and was highly intoxicated when she got into her car, hitting a wall as she reversed out of the car park.
Det Insp Roche said Melia’s husband had left her and their six children the preceding April, and she had begun to drink more heavily than usual after that.
Defence counsel Paul Greene SC said his client was extremely remorseful for her “reckless, stupid and criminal behaviour” on the night.
A letter from Melia, begging for the Lynch family’s forgiveness, was handed into court.