A JUDGE who wanted to “send out a strong message” has jailed a young man for one year for dangerous driving causing the deaths of a mother and daughter in Donegal in 2008.
Seán Goldrick (21), Dunlewey, Co Donegal, pleaded guilty yesterday at Letterkenny Circuit Court to causing the deaths of Martina McLernon (45) and her daughter Louise (15) from Toome in Co Antrim.
On May, 24th, 2008, they were walking at Meenacuing, Gweedore, near An Chúirt hotel at about 8.30pm when they were struck by Goldrick’s car which had gone out of control. Evidence was given that Goldrick, who was 19 at the time, was speeding home during a work-break when he lost control, hit an oncoming car and ploughed into the McLernons, killing them instantly.
Gardaí at the scene only identified the victims when Ms McLernon’s son rang her on her mobile phone which lay in her cardigan at the side of the road.
Goldrick’s car should have not been on the road as it did not have a valid NCT certificate.
In their victim impact statement, the family said whey wanted a message sent out about dangerous driving on the roads. They also said Goldrick never apologised to them before the case.
Judge John O’Hagan said that dangerous driving was a “particular problem” in Donegal. During his time in Donegal, he had dealt with at least eight cases of dangerous driving causing death.
The court heard Goldrick was a quantity surveying student in Letterkenny Institute of Technology. He was working in a crisp factory in Gweedore and had left the factory at about 8.20pm that evening to go home for his dinner.
Judge O’Hagan referred to recent cases where long sentences had been handed down for people convicted for dangerous driving causing death. However, he noted that a number of these sentences had been successfully appealed to the High Court.
Judge O’Hagan described his driving as “reckless in the extreme. In this case, there must be a custodial sentence and the message has to go out to young people in Donegal that when they drive like this and do something wrong, they are in serious trouble. This is not easy but I must send out a strong message,” he said.
He jailed Goldrick for two years on each charge of dangerous driving and suspended the final 12 months of the sentence. He disqualified him from driving for seven years.