The children of a woman killed in a road accident last year yesterday said their mother would not have wanted the driver sent to jail.
David Cunningham, of Congress Avenue, Drogheda, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of Mrs Alice Carolan, of Tullyallen, Drogheda, at King Williams Glen, Drogheda, on June 20th last year.
He was driving a friend's car when it collided with Mrs Carolan's. The accident happened on a bend in the road. The defendant had been drinking earlier in the day, but Judge Raymond Groarke said there was no evidence that his driving was affected by drink.
In a statement, Cunningham told Garda Tom Quinn he was a passenger in a friend's car, but his friend had driven "like a lunatic". He had been afraid and took up the offer to swap seats and drive the car back the way it had come.
It was then that the accident happened. A man waiting at the bottom of the Glen said the car had taken off at speed, prompting him to phone the local Garda station.
In a statement read to the court, Ms Mary Carolan said her mother's death had devastated the family; she had been the heart and soul of the family unit. The family believed she would not have wanted Cunningham jailed.
The court heard that Cunningham was a close friend of the Carolan family and had attended the funeral. He has been in counselling since just after the accident and told the court he could not get what happened out of his head.
Judge Groarke adjourned sentencing for two weeks and remanded the accused in custody.