A Limerick man who has been jailed for four years for dangerous driving causing the death of his friend, was disqualified from driving at the time of the crash, a court has heard.
Johnathan Kiely (25), O'Malley Park, Southill, Limerick, pleaded guilty at Limerick Circuit Court yesterday to dangerous driving causing the death of Tracey Franey (23) at Sandy Land in Caherconlish in Co Limerick on September 18th, 2005.
The court heard that Kiely had been disqualified from driving for 10 years at the time of the crash, his second disqualification for driving-related offences since 2000.
He was also jailed for six months in 2002 for a dangerous driving conviction in which another person had died.
This had followed a five-year disqualification imposed in March 2000 for the unauthorised taking of a car.
Before imposing sentence, Judge Carroll Moran said Kiely had a very bad record and described it as a case of "some gravity" given his previous convictions.
When called to the witness box, Kiely apologised to the victim's family and said if he could swap places with his friend he would.
He described Ms Franey as a friend to whom he had given a lift that night, and said he had had sleepless nights since.
Kiely said he turned to hard drugs after the crash and had been told by doctors that he would have to take anti-depressants for a number of years. "My children were the only thing that kept me alive," said Kiely, who is now drug-free.
Kiely, whom the court heard is particularly close to his six-year-old son, asked that the custodial sentence not be imposed until after May 26th, when his son is due to make his first Holy Communion. Michael Collins, prosecuting, argued that Ms Franey's son had also made his Communion recently and that she was not there for his special day.
Judge Moran said there was nothing he could say that would bring back Ms Franey or change the clock. "Any sentence I impose is not going to seem adequate because the accused will be free at some stage in the future but the poor unfortunate dead girl has no release date," said Judge Moran.
He refused to defer sentencing and imposed a four-year prison sentence beginning yesterday.
Leave to appeal was also refused.