The parents of a man killed by a drunken driver yesterday opposed his early release from jail. Michael and Chrissie Hendricks lost their son, Ken (28), in a road accident outside Clonakilty in west Cork on July 5th, 1997.
A year ago, Mr Conor Dawson (22), of Coolgreen, Glanmire, a university student in Liverpool, was jailed for four years after being convicted of dangerous driving, causing the death of Mr Hendricks, driving with excess alcohol in the blood and failing to remain at the scene of an accident. He had one term left at college when the sentence was imposed.
Judge Anthony Murphy was asked to review the sentence at Cork Criminal Circuit Court yesterday. Mr Hendricks said he did not agree with Mr Dawson's early release. "My family has had a life sentence imposed on us as a result of this accident, which robbed us of a son." However, after listening to pleas on Mr Dawson's behalf, Judge Murphy agreed to suspend the rest of the sentence. The 10-year driving ban imposed last year remains.