A man whose dangerous driving caused the death of his friend shortly after they had been drinking together in a pub has been jailed for three years by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Trevor Eastwood (30), of Rivermeade Drive, St Margaret's, Co Dublin, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of his front-seat passenger, Jason McCann (28), on Ballystrahan Road, on April 12th, 2003.
Judge Desmond Hogan suspended the final year of the sentence for five years. Eastwoood had a previous conviction for drink-driving.
Garda Colm Gannon told prosecuting counsel Justin Dillon that Eastwood lost control of his car as he was driving over a hill and hit a signpost on the junction of Ballystrahan Road and War Road.
Mr McCann was pronounced dead shortly after he was brought to Beaumont Hospital. Edel Woods, the back-seat passenger, told gardaí that immediately after the accident she saw Eastwood attempting to resuscitate his friend.
"Wake up, wake up, please don't leave," Eastwood kept saying to Mr McCann, who appeared to have problems breathing at the time. Garda Gannon said Eastwood was extremely shocked and distressed when he was later told Mr McCann had died.
The court also heard that Eastwood later told gardaí that Mr McCann had told him just before the accident, "We are going to crash." He admitted he had been driving too fast before he lost control of the vehicle.
He also told gardaí that he had two double vodkas with Red Bull mixer and a few pints of beer before he got behind the wheel of the car that night.
Mr McCann, the youngest of three children, died of a tear to his heart which had been caused by blunt trauma caused to his chest wall during the accident.
Garda Gannon agreed with Eastwood's counsel, George Birmingham SC, that it had not been Eastwood's intention to drive the car at all that night. He arranged for it to be parked at his girlfriend's house and also left the keys with someone else in case he succumbed to temptation.
Mr Birmingham told Judge Hogan that Eastwood, who had a previous conviction for drunk driving, had later in the evening agreed to use the car after being asked to do so several times by Mr McCann.