Prosecutors in Pennsylvania have expressed surprise after a former US soldier pleaded guilty to killing a Clare teenager in a drink driving accident.
Mr Joseph Livoti has pleaded guilty to the vehicular homicide of 19-year-old Ennis native Ms Margaret Brohan, who was touring in the US with the Rhythm of the Dance Irish traditional dance troop last year.
Mr Livoti is due to be sentenced on February 3rd after prosecutors insisted that he serve the standard three to six years in prison. However, Mr Livoti could be released after two years if he is accepted onto a boot camp programme after one year in a state prison.
Assistant District Attorney, Mr Bruce Beemer, said he hoped the guilty plea and Mr Livoti's expression of remorse could bring some closure to Ms Brohan's family. The prosecution expressed surprise that Mr Livoti had pleaded guilty as the driver of the car in which Ms Brohan was travelling had also been convicted of drunken driving. "He could have fought this but he did the right thing. It's obvious that he was the cause of this accident and he saved the Brohan family a lot of unnecessary grief," he said.
Livoti had a blood alcohol content of 0.198 per cent when his truck hit a car in Pittsburgh in November, 2003.
Under Pennsylvania law, a driver is presumed intoxicated at 0.08 per cent.