A vehicle test centre charged in relation to the bus crash in which five schoolgirls were killed in Co Meath three years ago was acquitted in court today.
Judge Patrick McCartan withdrew the case against McArdles Test Centre Ltd of Dundalk, Co Louth from the jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court following an application by defence counsel and directed that verdicts of not guilty be recorded on the two charges faced by the company.
He told the jury that the evidence of Wesley Finlay, a Department of the Environment tester with McArdles had “very much put a spanner in the works and in my mind, undermined the prosecution’s case”.
He said it was obvious from Mr Finlay’s evidence that the date on the charge, should have been March 4th, 2005, the day he carried out the original DOE test on the bus involved in the crash, and not March 15th, 2005, when his only responsibility was to recheck for those items that had failed the original inspection.
He said that the accused was entitled to the benefit of the doubt in any criminal trial and although the prosecution did throw up many doubts, it was his belief that Mr Finlay’s testimony showed-up “inherent contradictions in the prosecution case”.
Judge McCartan thanked the five men and seven women of the jury “deeply” for their involvement in justice being done and excused them from further service for 10 years. Today was the sixth day of evidence in the case.
Joe McArdle, a director, had pleaded not guilty on behalf of McArdles, to two charges of failing to note the ABS warning light on the bus wasn’t operational while conducting a vehicle test on March 15th, 2005, two months before the tragedy.
A second company, Keltank Ltd of Balbriggan, pleaded guilty on day day-four of the trial, and its case is due for mention tomorrow when it is expected that a sentence date will be set.
Keltank pleaded guilty through Sonya Kelly, company secretary, that being aware that ABS sensor leads were disconnected it failed to ascertain whether a hazard arose as a consequence thereof before returning the bus to the driver on May 5th, 2005.
The case against Bus Eireann, which has pleaded guilty to charges arising from the investigation into the crash, is due for mention next Tuesday at Trim Circuit Criminal Court.
Five schoolgirls, Lisa Callan (15), Claire McCluskey (18), Deirdre Scanlon (17), Amy McCabe (15) and Sinead Ledwidge (15), were killed and 43 others injured when a school bus overturned on the Kentstown Road just outside Navan on May 23rd, 2005.