A boy who was aged just five when he was knocked down by a hit-and-run driver while crossing the road has settled his High Court action for damages against the driver for €165,000.
Mr Justice John Edwards yesterday approved a settlement of €165,000 in the case of Kevin Corrigan for serious injuries sustained after he was knocked down by taxi driver Salvatore Macken, St Dominic's Avenue, Tallaght, Dublin, at a pedestrian crossing on Tymon Road North, Tallaght, in September 2001.
Kevin, now aged 10, had sued through his father, James Corrigan, Castle Lawns, Tallaght.
Richard McDonnell SC, for the boy, said Kevin was brought to Tallaght hospital after the accident and was later transferred to Beaumont Hospital. He was in a coma for five days and suffered a head injury and a serious injury to his spleen.
He had to have surgery for a clot to his brain but had since made a full recovery.
Macken was ordered in 2003 by the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to pay a €1,000 fine or serve a one-year prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm, leaving the scene of an accident and failing to report an accident.
Garda Éamon Ryan told the court that Macken had driven his taxi through a red light. Kevin was walking across the road with the aid of a lollipop lady just in front of his mother Charlotte, who was wheeling a pram.
He was thrown in the air and landed on the bonnet of Macken's car before being carried for 30 feet and hitting his head on the ground. Garda Ryan said Macken stopped about 100 yards away, looked in his rear-view mirror and drove off.
Macken later told gardaí he had panicked and drove off but had been praying for the boy's welfare. He could not explain why he did not see the red light or the boy.