Suspended sentence for hit and run on cyclist

ThisRegard

Story is a bit bizarre. Women drives her car unable to see out because she didn't demist her windows, hits a cyclist but claims she didn't know she ran someone over and that it may have been an ex attacking her. Amazingly the judge seems to have taken the fact her ex was a violent 'blaggard' during sentencing.

Story doesn't say when it happened but she had previously been banned from driving for 4 years in 2010. There's been a few similar stories lately.

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/beauty-therapist-who-couldnt-see-out-car-window-avoids-jail-despite-catapulting-man-off-bike-29148431.html

smacl

ThisRegard wrote: »

Story doesn't say when it happened but she had previously been banned from driving for 4 years in 2010.

So, she was still banned when she committed this hit & run, but was pardoned said crime as her ex was a violent man. Bizarre indeed!

dybbuk

If she is saying the truth, she should not be allowed to drive ever again.
If she isn't, she should be locked up.
Either way she should pay the man at least some 50k in damages. Twice that if she is lying actually.

buffalo

What has any of this got to do with her apparent inability to drive? Are we all not equal in the courts?

Mr Comiskey O’Keefe said his client became pregnant with her first child when she was 17 years old but sat the Leaving Certificate two weeks after giving birth.

He said her mother died of cancer and she had promised her that she would return to education, . She went on to study beauty therapy and later opened her own salon in Crumlin.

She saw children playing at the side of the road, and heard a bang (which was enough to take off her wing mirror). Then drove on?!

Bray Header

It didn't say she was still banned. She got a 4 year ban in 2010, and probably appealed it and got her license back. If she did this while banned A) The article would reference it, and She would have defo been jailed.

I'm a cyclist myself, but the first 2 comments here are very selective. If you read the whole article you get a much better perspective on the Victim, Perpetrator and the consequences of the impact for both people.

ThisRegard

Yeah, I tried to find out what year the accident happened to see if it happened within the period she was banned but haven't been able to find out when yet. Possibly the accident happened just before her ban knowing the time it takes for some cases to get to court.

But the judge seems to have taken her ex into consideration more so the fact she was driving with fogged up windows and left the scene of an accident.

Nothing else should even matter, "sad" back story or not, have they removed the blindfold from lady justice on top of the Four Courts ?

dybbuk

Bray Header wrote: »

the first 2 comments here are very selective. If you read the whole article you get a much better perspective on the Victim, Perpetrator and the consequences of the impact for both people.

Thank you! I did not notice there was more. But for me it only changes the amount I would let her pay in damages: 100k++

depadz

ThisRegard wrote: »

Yeah, I tried to find out what year the accident happened to see if it happened within the period she was banned but haven't been able to find out when yet. ?

October 2010

http://www.southyorkshiretimes.co.uk/news/local/road-accident-changed-my-life-completely-says-cyclist-1-3677531

seamus

From what I can tell from the article, the four year ban came after this incident. Presumably the court date for that ban was pending at the time that she did the hit-and-run on the cyclist. Accident in Oct 2010, ban came in Dec 2010 for a previous failure to provide a breath sample.

A model citizen, I'm sure.

ThisRegard

Ah, it's there in the story now alright, I wonder if the story was updated as I explicitly looked for the details first time around. So her ban came into effect just after this accident.

CramCycle

She thought it was her abusive ex but failed to contact the Gardai for 4 hours and also may have run him over in her mind, leaving the potential scene of an accident? This should be Jailtime

She drove with no/almost no view before the "ex" was supposedly there? This alone should get her a 10 year ban + possible jailtime.

It just doesn't shock me anymore though.

spyderski

The DPP should appeal the leniency of this sentence. WTF has her ex, her mothers cancer, or her teenage pregnancy got to do with this?

Given her previous, she was probably pissed so had to wait the 4 hours so she'd pass the breathalyser......

rollingscone

Seems to be a constant complaint among Gardai I know, Judges love a sob story...

buffalo

btw, I think it's fair enough that she avoided jail, given that there was no malicious intent here. Banned for 10 years seems sufficient punishment for her incompetence, though from the sounds of it she's not intending to get back on the road anyway. A suspended sentence for ignorantly leaving the scene of a crime will be a warning as well.

dybbuk

Apparently one of the most important differences between humans and other mammals is our sense of justice.
We owe a significant part of our culture to this difference.
However, our obsession with intent is also one of the biggest obstacles to our progress. All this Judeo-Christian righteousness is blinding to our rationality.
What difference does it really make if there was a malicious intent? Francesco Schettino had no such intent yet his actions appear more despicable to me than those of a terrorist. Terrorists hate because they care. Schettino doesn't.
"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference" (Elie Wiesel)

StinkyMunkey

In fairness, if you knock someone down and dont notice, you have no buisness being in charge of a pram let alone a motor vehicle.

Id have thought the mans body bouncing off the windscreen was a sure give away. I call BS on her story, the bint knew and drove off.

And whats with the "i gave birth at 17", does that mean any woman who gives birth in her teens can go mow down anyone and get a slap on the wrist.

She seen kids playing, then heard a loud thump. Any half normal person would have been afraid they hit one of the children.

Capt'n Midnight

IMHO the sort of drivers that don't give a damn about the law have almost nothing to fear about hitting a cyclist.

I know a cyclist hit by a joyrider another hit by a banned driver and another killed by a bus. All were female.

Has anyone actually gone to jail for killing a cyclist here ?


Does any cyclist feel protected by the law here ?

Do any cyclists feel tempted to take the law into their own hands ?

CramCycle

buffalo wrote: »

A suspended sentence for ignorantly leaving the scene of a crime will be a warning as well.

Respectfully, for alot of people, a suspended sentence means absolutely nothing, you don';t do time, you never recieve punishment and is often the case, if your before the courts again, the judge "takes it into consideration" and gives you another suspended sentence.

ashleey

What worries me is the quotes from the judge. He said he was 'impressed' by her.

dybbuk

We don't know the details. Maybe she did make a lot of progress...
After all what can you do? If you lock her up it will just cost more money and her child won't have his mom.
We should invest more in upbringing, education and contraceptive measures. It is a lot more effective than punishment.

BostonB

Nothing here to deter other drivers to take more care in demisting their windows either.

Busted Flat.

ashleey wrote: »

What worries me is the quotes from the judge. He said he was 'impressed' by her.

There was Judge in Wicklow, years ago, had a good impression of women.

Arktura

is this the same judge?????
if so he seems to think less for actually killing a cyclist in a hit and run then? http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/hitandrun-driver-avoids-jail-term-over-death-of-cyclist-29102222.html

Here the judge takes into account the fact that this lady has:
"had a relationship with the father of her two boys and accepted he was “an appalling man” and a “blaggard”"
"He said her mother died of cancer"
"his client became pregnant with her first child when she was 17 years old but sat the Leaving Certificate two weeks after giving birth."
How the hell are these relevant to the case?

With the O Farrell case the prosecution were appointed a Junior Counsel only while the defence had both junior and senior?

monkeypants

Another woeful report from the Info. By the time I've finished reading, I have more questions regarding what happened than I have answers.