A SOUTH Armagh man has been convicted of the manslaughter of two men in a three-vehicle crash which one witness said was like a scene from a “stunt film”.
The unanimous verdicts came yesterday at the end of nearly 4½ hours deliberation by the jury at Dundalk Circuit Criminal Court.
John Woods (39), Upper Fathom Road, Killeavy, Co Armagh, had pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of Kevin O’Malley and Eamonn Curran at Dowdallshill, Newry Road, Dundalk, Co Louth, in the early hours of February 5th, 2005.
He was driving a BMW X5 SUV which hit the kerb and went out of control, colliding with a Honda Civic before becoming airborne and landing on top of a Hyundai Accent.
Mr Curran, from Woodbury Gardens, Dundalk, was a passenger in the Hyundai and Mr O’Malley from Mornington, Co Meath, was a passenger in the SUV. The crash happened just before 4am.
A Garda patrol car had just begun to follow the SUV after seeing it break a red light and because it did not have a rear number plate.
A few minutes later the patrol car came upon the SUV and the horrific crash scene.
Prosecuting counsel Dan Boland told the jury that only massive speed could have caused the amount of damage that occurred.
Woods had been out in a nightclub with Mr O’Malley and the owner of the SUV Barney McKevitt and had decided to drive it home because he said he had not been drinking.
Woods said he had seen the Garda car some 457m behind him as he came to a bend near a graveyard at Dowdallshill.
He said a black cat or dog ran out in front of him and he had swung to his righthand side to avoid it. He had struck the kerb and the SUV had gone out of control.
The court heard the SUV had crossed on to the wrong side of the road, struck a lamp-post, swung around violently and crashed into the graveyard wall.
It then struck the Honda Civic before it spun into the air and landed on the roof of the Hyundai Accent.
Everything else was a blur and he woke up in the cemetery and then had run home from the crash scene.
Later that same morning he went with his solicitor to Dundalk Garda station where he admitted driving the two-tonne vehicle.
Witness, Kevin McKeever said he saw the SUV strike the Honda Civic and then it “spun into the air and landed on to another car, like something you’d see in a stunt film”. The jury, which also found him guilty of breaking a red light at Church Street, Dundalk, delivered its unanimous verdicts on the sixth day of the trial.
There was some confusion when the verdicts were read out as they referred to the charges by number only.
However, Judge Michael White then clarified that the guilty verdicts referred to manslaughter and breaking the red light.
As a result the jury did not have to go on to consider the less serious offence of dangerous driving causing death; Woods had pleaded not guilty to that charge as well.
Woods has been remanded in custody until next Tuesday when a date will be set for his sentencing, which is expected to be towards the end of the month.