Athy car crash driver to face trial in July

The driver of a car in which four young women were killed near Athy, Co Kildare, in January 2015 is to be tried in July in connection with their deaths.

Dayna Kearney (22) is charged with dangerous driving causing the deaths of Gemma Nolan (19), Charmaine Carroll (20), Niamh Doyle (19), all from Carlow, and Aisling Middleton (19) from Athy.

The car in which they were travelling, a Volkswagon Polo driven by Ms Kearney, collided with a transit van, killing the four instantly on January 6th, 2015. The five friends were returning from an ice-skating trip when their car hit the van on the N78 road at Burtown, outside Athy.

Judge Michael O'Shea, sitting in Naas Circuit Court on Tuesday, set Ms Kearney's trial for July 10th. Ms Kearney, who was in court, also faces a charge of driving a defective vehicle.