A haulier has lost his appeal against his conviction and six-year driving disqualification after a man was killed when a wheel came off the trailer of an articulated lorry and struck him.
Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns said yesterday that there was "gross recklessness and thoughtlessness" on the part of Brendan Woods, the owner of the lorry and trailer, in letting the unit out on the road when, as a mechanic had said, a person "wearing their Sunday suit" could see it was defective. The nuts securing the wheel were grossly defective, the judge said.
Woods (33), Holycross, Thurles, Co Tipperary, was found guilty by a jury at Limerick Circuit Court in May 2006 of owning a vehicle which, due to a known defect or a defect which could have been discovered by the exercise of ordinary care, was a danger to the public.
He was cleared of the more serious charge of reckless endangerment, sentenced to three months imprisonment and disqualified from driving for six years.
Both charges followed an accident in Co Limerick on February 18th, 2004, in which Vincent Byrnes (60), Doon, Clarina, Co Limerick, was killed when a large double wheel came off the trailer of an articulated tractor unit and struck him while he was walking along a footpath towards the village of Clarina.
During the trial, evidence was given by a Garda expert witness that a normal inspection of the trailer could have prevented the wheel coming off.
Garda public service vehicle inspector Mick Reddy said that, in his 20 years dealing with heavy goods vehicles, the articulated lorry involved was the "most dangerously under-braked combination" he had encountered.
Mr Woods appealed against his conviction and sentence to the Court of Criminal Appeal.
It was argued there was no complaint about Woods's ability to drive and no charge of dangerous driving against him, Woods not being the driver on the day in question. In those circumstances, the imposition of the six-year disqualification period was unduly severe.
Counsel for the DPP contended that Woods had a "certain disregard" for regulations governing the haulage of goods and had put a "gravely defective" vehicle on the road.