A man jailed for five years for dangerous driving causing death arising from a road tragedy in Co Kildare in which three people died has lost his appeal against conviction.
Larry Boggan (27), Meadow View, Clonard, Co Meath, was convicted and sentenced at Trim Circuit Court on November 11th, 2003.
The conviction arose from a three-car accident shortly before 9 p.m. on July 21st, 2001, on the Dublin-Galway Road at Ballyonan, Moyvalley, Co Kildare. Martin Darby, one of two people in Mr Boggan's car, died as did the driver and passenger in a second car, Patrick McEvoy and his daughter, Laura.
At the Court of Criminal Appeal yesterday, Mr John Phelan SC, for Boggan, told the court his client had no recollection, good, bad or indifferent about the accident. "The probability" was that he was "in the back seat" when the accident occurred.
Mr Justice Kearns, presiding, said Mr Phelan had submitted his client was lying half in and half out of the back window and this was the last position in which one would expect to find the driver. Mr Phelan had also suggested that another man travelling in the car with him who was tragically killed was more likely to have been the driver.
After the crash there was confusion as to what had happened and a Garda inspector had called to the hospital to interviewed Boggan. The judge said the court was satisfied there were no circumstances of unfairness in relation to that interview. Boggan was awake and in the presence of his partner when the inspector had a fairly short discussion with him.
There was also evidence that the car was owned by Boggan's partner and that he was insured to drive it and regularly did so. On the evening in question, his partner had said she saw him driving away from their residence in it.