Woman (20) acquitted over deaths in car crash

A 20-year-old woman walked free from court today after a jury took 90 minutes to find her not guilty of dangerous driving causing the death of two young men who were rear seat passengers in her car when it crashed.

Theresa Dingivan of Pearse Square in Fermoy, Co Cork had denied dangerous causing the deaths of James Sexton (19) and Michael Murphy (22) who were both killed when her car crashed into a wall at Strawhall, Fermoy on August 5th, 2007.

Afterwards Ms Dingivan’s solicitor, John Brooks spoke on behalf of his client. “Obviously she is very relieved with the decision of the court. The events of the 5th of August will live with her unfortunately for the rest of her life.

“She and her family have the greatest sympathy for the Murphy and Sexton families. She is sorry she had to put them through the ordeal of the court for the last five days. Her sympathies lie with those families. It is just one terrible tragedy.”

The jury at Cork Circuit Criminal Court heard that Ms Dingivan lost control of her Honda Civic and that it zigzagged along the middle of the road and crashed into the boundary wall of a house on the right side of the road before finishing up on the left side of the road.

Ms Dingivan had been socialising with her sister, Brigid and friend Cillian Smith at the Peddlars bar in Castlelyons and had offered the two deceased, who were both from Castlelyons, a lift into to Fermoy.

Ms Dingivan and her sister and friend were all wearing seatbelts and she reminded the two deceased to put on their seatbelts when they got into the car but she didn’t believe that they had done so, Ms Dingivan told the court.

Ms Dingivan said that she had only been drinking 7-Up and the state accepted that there was zero alcohol in her blood.

The defence argued that she had lost control of the car after it hit some object on the road while the state argued she lost control due to excessive speed.