A man whose business partner's brother died when the car in which they were travelling collided with a taxi has been fined €5,000 and disqualified from driving for seven years.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Andrew Dwyer (33), from Pairc Mhuire, Saggart, Co Dublin, drove his car straight through a bend on a dark, country road and ended up on the wrong side where he smashed into an oncoming taxi driven by Mr Paul Smart.
Patrick Fitzgerald (24), from Killenaule, Co Tipperary, was in the passenger seat of Dwyer's car on June 17th, 2001, and died later in Tallaght Hospital.
Dwyer pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death on June 17th, 2001. He was in a coma for a number of weeks after the accident and gardaí were unable to interview him until after he came out of his coma. He had no recollection of the night but accepted he was the driver of the car. He did not find out about Mr Fitzgerald's death for six weeks after the accident
Mr Smart also suffered serious injuries and has since lost the use of his ankle after he was cut from his car.
Judge Des Hogan said that although this was a very tragic case resulting in the loss of life, there were no aggravating factors and he felt a custodial sentence was not appropriate.
Judge Hogan noted Dwyer had not driven since the accident and had suffered from depression since he found out about the consequences of the incident. He has also withdrawn from the business he shared with Mr Fitzgerald's brother.