Hit and run Cyclist death - Kerry.

CB19Kevo

Most people probably have heard about the recent conviction of Shane Fitzgerald after knocking down a cyclist whilst drink driving,leaving the scene without calling any help,destroying evidence and flying initially to the UK and then to Aus where he made many friends any enjoyed a good social life while all the time the family were calling for someone to come forward.
He then when extradited continued to fight the case and got a measly 5 years for it all.

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/paud-olearys-widow-to-kill-a-man-and-then-get-on-a-plane-and-look-after-yourself-its-cowardly-behaviour-31177623.html

http://www.newstalk.com/listen_back/13240/18192/28th_April_2015_-_The_Pat_Kenny_Show_Part_1/

Not good to read if you have high blood pressure.
Sickening to look at his facebook and comments saying there will be a pint waiting for him when his out and the time will fly,God lads he must be great craic:mad:

Question here is could you stand over a friend in a case like that,I dont think i could,Everyone makes mistakes but i could not be around a person who prolongs the suffering of a decnet family like this.

The Burgerbar

That piece of dirt will be walking the streets again in three years time and is bound to take another life if he keeps up his drinking and driving.

If there was any real justice the people who helped him escape first should also be doing time.

dodderangler

5 years??
Minus 3 for good behaviour. He'll be out in 2 and it's the justice system in this country which is at fault for it.
He should've gotten 2 for drink driving alone and then murder which is what is was considering he never owned up to it and destroyed evidence and left the country.
Fcukin wànker.

Triangla

Why he was not given the maximum sentence is beyond me.

He should have had the book thrown at him and had every other charge possible added to the charges such as perverting the course of justice, tampering with a crimescene (disposing of the car). etc

How anyone can stand by someone who did what he did and fled like he did is beyond me. An example of the lowest form of life there.

circadian

What an self centred coward.

The justice system is a mess too. Someone that does something like this should be getting a much, much harsher sentence.

qwerty1991

An accident can happen to anyone.... this man however was under the influence of alcohol which is so selfish and disrespectful to other road users. He left that poor man to die and then moves away and lives a normal fun and carefree life?!

I think the fact he showed such disrespect and cowardice by moving to Australia and thinking he could get away with it warrants a much tougher sentence. Imagine how that poor victim's family felt when they discovered the driver had been living it up in a different jurisdiction while they lived with the loss of their son? Scum.

c_man

Scumbag. And to those who'll be along, "He'll have to live with it for the rest of his life" he will in his bollox. His actions show he clearly doesn't give a fuk, nor does our justice system tbh.

crockholm

You can stand by your friends when they do wrong-but I couldn't stand by a friend who acted so cowardly,illegally and showed so Little remorse for the man he killed or his family-why on Earth would I want anything to do with such a lowlife-he disgusts me.

dodderangler

dodderangler wrote: »

He should've gotten 2 for drink driving alone and then murder which is what is was...

I don't think he was charged with drink driving. In fairness to the Gardai that would be very difficult without a sample.

One doesn't want to accuse his family of any wrongdoing in the legal sense. But there are a lot of rumours and hard questions about them here in Kerry.

RollieFingers

Little ratbag, I hope he has a truly **** life for the rest of his days

c_man

c_man wrote: »

Scumbag. And to those who'll be along, "He'll have to live with it for the rest of his life" he will in his bollox. His actions show he clearly doesn't give a fuk, nor does our justice system tbh.

Nope. In fact judging by his facebook he had great craic altogether in Australia after leaving that poor chap to die.

Lemming

One lives in hope that one day, karma will catch up with this "fine upstanding" gentleman and he is left to die slowly in a gutter/ditch/sewer/car-wreck. Couldn't happen to a more deserving trogolodite.

Streetwalker

They should have charged him with non payment of a fine instead he would have served longer. 5 years is laughable.

Summer wind

I think it's terrible first of all for the poor man to have been killed in such an awful way but my god imagine the pain his family went through when they discovered his body and found out how long he was left there dead on that roadside. You would not do it to a dog. The law in this country is far too lenient.

Warper

dodderangler wrote: »

5 years??
Minus 3 for good behaviour. He'll be out in 2 and it's the justice system in this country which is at fault for it.
He should've gotten 2 for drink driving alone and then murder which is what is was considering he never owned up to it and destroyed evidence and left the country.
Fcukin wànker.

2 years in jail for drink driving is excessive to say the least, 2 year ban fair enough but 2 yrs in prison forget about it

twowheelsonly

Having met this fine individual I have to say that he's one of the most arrogant self centred pieces of sht that I've ever encountered.
He's definitely up there with the likes of Lillis as a despicable cowardly individual.
Supposedly the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, he had to have gotten the attitude from somewhere..
Most criminals/junkies/drunk drivers etc will hold their hands when caught or will hand themselves in - a self centred coward like this will run away.
Shame on any of his family and friends as well that helped him. They're as bad and should also face justice.

El Weirdo

dodderangler wrote: »

5 years??
Minus 3 for good behaviour. He'll be out in 2 and it's the justice system in this country which is at fault for it.

Either you have no clue about remission in this country or you're shite at maths.

Which is it?

Lollipops23

1) He was drunk 2) He fled the scene 3) He intended to stay gone and showed zero remorse.


That's tantamount to manslaughter. A couple of years is nothing- that man's children lost their dad, his wife lost her husband and clearly the driver didn't care. Scumbag.

seamus

crockholm wrote: »

You can stand by your friends when they do wrong-but I couldn't stand by a friend who acted so cowardly,illegally and showed so Little remorse for the man he killed or his family-why on Earth would I want anything to do with such a lowlife-he disgusts me.

To be fair, it seems like plenty of his friends didn't stand by him and were happy to let Gardai know just how drunk he'd been on the night and where he'd been drinking.

I'd say his family have told absolutely no-one what they've done with the land rover, so aside from shunning him and assisting Gardai about that night, there's not much else any friends could do.

topper75

Good to have a picture and name. Credit to Indo.
Duly noted.

Lollipops23

This is probably the wrong this to focus on, but I couldn't help note that he went to court in jeans. WTF? He couldn't even try to look respectable and less like a scumbag? Screams arrogant SOB to me.

Vandango

c_man wrote: »

Scumbag. And to those who'll be along, "He'll have to live with it for the rest of his life" he will in his bollox. His actions show he clearly doesn't give a fuk, nor does our justice system tbh.

Amen.

rob180

God forbid, if any of my kids ever came home, told me they might have hurt/killed someone and left the scene without contacting the authority. I would drag the fecker to the guards and have him/her owned up to what they did. Well, that what decent people would do, says alot about his family really.
One more thing, can he return to Australia when he's released? Do the criminal record he has now affect his visa application?

BattleCorp

He won't be living it up in Australia any more. I doubt that they'd make him welcome seeing as they don't welcome convicts anymore.

He won't be going to the US either as his conviction will stop him going there too.

Anybody can have an accident but showing no remorse leads me to believe that he's beyond redemption.

I'd feel sh1te if I hit a dog.

whiskeyman

The justice system is an ass.

There is no justice for families like this. It nearly mocks their bereavement and loss.

Neyite

seamus wrote: »

I'd say his family have told absolutely no-one what they've done with the land rover, so aside from shunning him and assisting Gardai about that night, there's not much else any friends could do.

What's the story with the land rover?

Duiske

Been thinking about the story alot, and just can't get my head around how someone could knock a person down and then just drive away without even checking on them. Reading between the lines of the case it appears that the poor guy would almost certainly have been killed instantly from the impact, but the driver of the jeep would not have known that. I mean, not even to call the emergency services and say there might be an injured person at the scene ? Most normal thinking people would stop to see if they could help a dog they had struck with their car. Should be a minimum 20yr sentence for hit and run which causes death or serious injury, then add the drink-driving, etc, on top of that.

MintyMagnum

Read last week that his family would've donated his organs for transplant but he wasn't found for eight hours, so it wasn't possible. Think it would've given them some comfort. Very sad.

Would I stand by a friend who made a massive mistake and who was living through hell as a result? Absofcukinglutely.

Would I stand by someone who left the scene of their accident and didn't own up to it immediately, who put another family, not only through massive loss by their actions, but hell for a long time after? Absolutely fcuking not.

Duiske

Duiske wrote: »

Reading between the lines of the case it appears that the poor guy would almost certainly have been killed instantly from the impact, but the driver of the jeep would not have known that.

Sadly, again the rumours around Kerry is that he certainly did not die there and then, and that in fact had the person stopped and contacted the emergency services he may be alive now.

I can't say that that's a medical assessment or that it was asserted in the case itself, or might have come from someone involved - it may have been, it may not, but that's what many are saying.

seamus

Neyite wrote: »

What's the story with the land rover?

It hasn't been recovered, largely believed that it's been buried somewhere by whoever was helping him flee.

He did claim that he sold it in the UK to get himself to Australia, which given that he boarded a ferry the next day is plausible, but I imagine the Gardai would have thoroughly explored that.

If he'd driven a grey land cruiser with the front right wing smashed to bits from Kerry to Dublin port, he would have been spotted.

Homer

I sincerely hope that any boards users from the Kerry region that are familiar with him and his family treat them as lepers of the community and shun them in public, and I know if I ran a business there they wouldn't set foot inside the door. Disgusting family

flatty

Was it not Kerry where half the village, including the priest, queued up to shake the hand of a convicted rapist in front of his victim?

flatty

flatty wrote: »

Was it not Kerry where half the village, including the priest, queued up to shake the hand of a convicted rapist in front of his victim?

Just to clarify, the victim is from Kerry, the convicted man is from Cork, their addresses would not be too far apart - I'm guessing 20 minutes or half hour but someone from East Kerry would know more.

Sleazy Gonzales

How was he caught?

seamus

simarconi wrote: »

How was he caught?

Good detective work by the looks of it. From what I can tell from report, Gardai were able to determine from the scene and the debris left behind what kind of car it was and its colour.

Then from a review of CCTV from businesses and houses, they were able to find the vehicle and step back along the vehicle's journey, ultimately finding CCTV footage of the driver. Then they were able to trace back his movements through CCTV and show him out on the town absolutely hammered before he got in the car.

I imagine they also weren't long having their suspicions raised when they traced all of the local owners of that kind of vehicle and found that one of them fled the country the day after the crash.

Guy:Incognito

Surely they'd know easily enough if the car went on a Ferry to the UK.

As I understand, it would have been very difficult for them to try and match what they had to every vehicle, particularly when the actual vehicle was now destroyed. It was apparently a friend of the accused who went to a Garda and reported his suspicions and when they knew the vehicle involved they were able to work backwards to what they had found and make the link.

whiskeyman

seamus wrote: »

Good detective work by the looks of it. From what I can tell from report, Gardai were able to determine from the scene and the debris left behind what kind of car it was and its colour.

Then from a review of CCTV from businesses and houses, they were able to find the vehicle and step back along the vehicle's journey, ultimately finding CCTV footage of the driver. Then they were able to trace back his movements through CCTV and show him out on the town absolutely hammered before he got in the car.

I imagine they also weren't long having their suspicions raised when they traced all of the local owners of that kind of vehicle and found that one of them fled the country the day after the crash.

If true, that was indeed fantastic work by the gardai and must be applauded... but they too must also be disheartened when such a conviction like this has such a paltry sentence handed down.

Sniipe

My mother's car was hit by a drunk driver - a school teacher from Clare speeding along with his friends. So too was my brother's car - a woman trying to commit suicide in Galway. I feel so angry with these stupid ar*eholes but this killer, Shane Fitzgerald, can't seem to but only portray a scumbag persona. I feel so sorry for Margaret, her children and for Paud's circle of family and friends. I'm embarrassed for our justice system that the murdering Shane Fitzgearld got away with a holiday and a lesser sentence than expected.
Never ever drink and drive! Its not worth it.

Cienciano

Fair play to the gardai for finding the scumbag that did it. But there really needs to be stronger penalties for drink driving. And much more check points, set up regularly.

Son Of A Vidic

c_man wrote: »

And to those who'll be along, "He'll have to live with it for the rest of his life" he will in his bollox.

True and I always laugh when I read or hear that nonsense. The piece of shít clearly doesn't give two fúcks about the victim or his family. Just a pity he hasn't got at least ten years behind bars to stew on it.

Donnielighto

Don't worry there'll be justice.

Tigger

Donnielighto wrote: »

Don't worry there'll be justice.

never is

Cold War Kid

Don't know if there'll be justice - who knows really.

Deleted User wrote: »

One doesn't want to accuse his family of any wrongdoing in the legal sense. But there are a lot of rumours and hard questions about them here in Kerry.

So I've heard too. I'm not from north-west Cork/the Kerry border, but my relations are.

flatty wrote: »

Was it not Kerry where half the village, including the priest, queued up to shake the hand of a convicted rapist in front of his victim?

Listowel - north Kerry, far from where this man is from. Wondering why you've brought up a separate story.

dr.fuzzenstein

seamus wrote: »

It hasn't been recovered, largely believed that it's been buried somewhere by whoever was helping him flee.

He did claim that he sold it in the UK to get himself to Australia, which given that he boarded a ferry the next day is plausible, but I imagine the Gardai would have thoroughly explored that.

If he'd driven a grey land cruiser with the front right wing smashed to bits from Kerry to Dublin port, he would have been spotted.

I think you're greatly overestimating the observational powers of the Gardai.
Unless you're speeding you can drive backwards with your car on fire and your arse hanging out the window and they don't care.
Unless maybe they where specifically on the lookout for this particular car, otherworldly just another dinged car to them.

road_high

Reading about this poor lady and what Her beautiful family have been put through by this pond life today, in the indo, I was sickened to my core. Not only should this murdering scumbag be left to rot in jail for eternity, all members of his family that aided and abated his crime/murder should be all hauled before the courts for perversion of justice.
The only solace I take from this whole episode is the sincere hope Shane Fitzgerald gets what's coming to him in prison Shawshank style.

Also now the scum has been proven guilty, is there no way to press further as to what happened the jeep? To get rid of a large vehicle like that completely would not be all that easy and likely to have involved several accomplices.
Also well done to the Gardai involved for catching the little cockroche.

Flood

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

I think you're greatly overestimating the observational powers of the Gardai.
Unless you're speeding you can drive backwards with your car on fire and your arse hanging out the window and they don't care.
Unless maybe they where specifically on the lookout for this particular car, otherworldly just another dinged car to them.

Surely the port would have cctv and record of it?

road_high

Flood wrote: »

Surely the port would have cctv and record of it?

And the ferry company on booking.

Flood

road_high wrote: »

And the ferry company on booking.

Exactly but I guess if he did drive a cruiser to the port and on the boat it could be another one with the reg of the one that was in the collision.

road_high

Imagine if he "sold it in the UK" like he claimed, then it would be easy to trace via the DVLA. I find it hard to believe anything from a lowlife though left a man to die in a ditch like that. I've seen and read some bad things in my time but this yoke really is the lowest of the lowest of the low, as are his family.