A mechanic who fatally injured an English student in a hit and run incident in Dublin and later claimed someone else had been driving his car has been jailed for seven years and disqualified from driving for life.
Eric Doyle (44), had 39 previous road traffic convictions and had been disqualified from driving for four years just two months before the fatal crash as a result of which Trinity College student, Lily Hastings-Bass died on November 26th, 2006.
Doyle, of Whitechurch Avenue, Ballyboden, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to dangerous driving causing the death of 20-year-old Ms Hastings-Bass on the Rathgar Road. He also pleaded guilty to driving without insurance or a driving licence and failing to stop on the same occasion.
Inspector George McGeary told prosecuting counsel, Vincent Heneghan BL, that Doyle left the scene after hitting Ms Hastings-Bass but gardaí - acting on information from an anonymous phone call - later found his car had damage consistent with having struck a pedestrian at high speed.
Doyle later rang gardaí and named a member of the Travelling community as the driver of the car on the day. Insp McGeary said an intoxicated Doyle also attended at a Garda station telling the same story.
Inspt McGeary said gardaí were able to map Doyle’s movements on the night, through the signal from his mobile phone which he appeared to be using at the time of the accident. He added that Doyle had since accrued further convictions for drunk driving, driving without insurance and speeding.
Ms Hastings-Bass, from Berkshire in England, was studying English and History at Trinity College Dublin and had arrived in the country only two months before the incident. She suffered severe multiple traumas, fractures and serious brain injuries and died after 11 days on a life support machine.
The Hastings-Bass family, who were not in court, outlined in a written victim impact report how they were “devastated” by the student's death and how Doyle’s “utter callousness” in failing to stop at the scene and attempting to blame another person had exacerbated their grief.
Doyle is currently serving a six month sentence imposed in Arklow District Court on January 28th last for drunken driving, driving without insurance or driving licence, and giving a false name when stopped in Arklow last March.
In addition to jailing Doyle, Judge Katherine Delahunt also disqualified him from driving for life. She and said it was a tragic case in which a young girl had been killed when Doyle should not have even been on the road.
“You showed complete disregard for the law and the penalties imposed on you,” Judge Delahunt said.