A man who drove through a red light causing a collision which resulted in the death of a taxi passenger has been given a suspended sentence.
Ryszard Gieron (42) told gardaí he had believed the light at the junction was green. His car hit a taxi travelling lawfully through the junction which flipped over as a result of the collision.
Mark Gerety (39) was a passenger in the taxi and sustained fatal injuries. His parents, Anne and Paul Gerety, told the court in their victim impact statement that Mark was a very special person who was kind, caring and respectful.
“He did not deserve to end his life in this brutal and careless manner,” they wrote.
They described how his funeral had been attended by hundreds of people who overflowed on to the street. They said his brother and sister found the loss of Mark unbearable, as they all did.
His parents outlined that as yet another Christmas approached they felt guilty and afraid to have fun simply because Mark was not there. “All that’s left for us is justice for Mark,” they said.
Tragedy
They quoted a family friend: “God must be seriously short of good people to have taken Mark in this way.”
Gieron, of Belmayne Park South, Dublin 13, and originally from Poland, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to dangerous driving causing the death of Mr Gerety at Summerhill Parade on June 23rd, 2017.
Judge Martin Nolan said the loss of Mark was a tragedy for his family and expressed his condolences to the Gerety family. He commended their dignified victim impact report and said they had suffered grievously.
The judge said dangerous driving was a very elastic offence ranging from the relatively mundane to most serious. He said the court had to come to a decision in relation to the culpability of Gieron in order to assess an appropriate sentence.
He said there were no aggravating factors, noting there was no evidence of speeding or intoxicants. He said Gieron had behaved appropriately after the collision, had no record of conviction and a good work history.
“Every driver is obliged to drive their car in a safe way and on the night in question he did not do that,” said the judge. He said by reason of Gieron’s inattention on the night a man had died.
Explanation
“Obviously every driver, and most of us in this room are drivers, is capable of inattention and not paying appropriate attention,” said the judge. “Does he deserve an immediate custodial sentence by reason of what was done? Or in this case, not done? He did not take proper care.”
He said he accepted Gieron’s explanation that he thought he had a green light as the gardaí had ruled out other possibilities.
“In my view it would be unjust to imprison him,” said the judge. He imposed a two-year sentence which he suspended in full.