A man who spotted sexually explicit texts on his wife’s phone caused serious injuries to the sender when he drove at speed towards him before losing control of the vehicle and hitting a wall.
Gavin Heaphy (24), of Woodview Drive in Mallow, Co Cork, was jailed for three years with the last 18 months suspended for offences such as dangerous driving causing serious harm.
Garda PJ Roche told Cork Circuit Criminal Court that on May 27th last Heaphy saw sexually suggestive messages on his wife’s phone from a man.
Despite having a driving ban, the father-of-four got into a car and went to the other man’s home.
The man Heaphy was looking for was not there so he parked his car and waited. When he saw the man, Heaphy drove at speed down the road.
Garda Roche said Heaphy was unable to stop and the car went through a wall at the house.
The man Heaphy wanted to confront was injured as was a woman who was near the wall. The woman suffered wrist injuries while the man suffered an injury to his anus, which was pierced by a piece of steel and left him needing surgery.
Declined
The injured man and woman declined to provide victim impact statements to the court.
Garda Roche said Heaphy was was a committed family man who hailed from difficult family circumstances in Cork city. He had moved to Mallow in order to stay away from trouble.
Niamh Stewart, defending, said her client was not in a good place at the time and was suffering from depression and anxiety. He made full admissions and was remorseful for what had been a “spur of the moment’”incident.
Judge Seán O’Donnabhain said the fact that Heaphy failed to remain at the scene of crash was a serious matter as was the fact that he was disqualified from driving at the time. The judge said Heaphy had a “disproportionate violent response” to the texts.
“Text messages are best dealt with by being deleted in most cases,” he said.
He stated that Heaphy had “deliberately or recklessly lost control of his vehicle” and the injured man spent five days in hospital as a result.
He jailed Heaphy and disqualified him from driving for 10 years.