A 17-year-old youth was jailed for four years at Limerick Circuit Court today for killing a teenage girl in a joyriding incident.
The youth - who cannot be named for legal reasons - had pleaded guilty to causing the death by dangerous driving of 17 year-old Tanya Nunan in Limerick on May 5th, 2002.
Judge Carroll Moran heard that Ms Nunan was walking home with a friend from the city centre when she was hit by a stolen Honda Civic at Bengal Terrace, Limerick.
Gardaí gave evidence that the car had been stolen earlier on the evening of May 5th 2002 from a house at Georgian Villas.
The car which was bring driven at speeds of up to 70 miles per hour in the wrong direction along a one-way street was followed by gardaí in an unmarked car.
There were four people travelling in the stolen car when it hit Tanya Nunan and another youth at Bengal Terrace.
Witness statements read to the court said that Tanya was thrown about six feet into the air and knocked 15 feet forward along the ground following the impact of the collision.
The court heard that the youth who was driving the car fled the scene and did not know until the following morning that a young girl had died in the incident.
Gardaí said the accused was arrested some months after the incident in the Dooradoyle area of Limerick and initially he had given a false name and address.
Imposing sentence, Judge Moran said he was "deeply sorry for the tragic loss the Nunan family had suffered" and he offered his condolences to Mrs Nunan.
"Joyriding is a curse which runs the risk of killing someone. If the accused had been convicted by jury he would have received the maximum sentence," said the judge.
However, he said he had to take into account the fact that the accused had pleaded guilty to the charges and sentenced him to four years in jail.