A MAN who caused the death of another man and seriously injured two children while racing his car at over 120mph (193km/h) has been jailed for two years.
Joe O’Leary (38), of Lurgoe, Killenaule, Co Tipperary, appeared before Clonmel Circuit Court yesterday. The court heard O’Leary crashed an Audi A5 belonging to his brother while overtaking an Audi TT driven by Raymond Cunningham.
Mr Cunningham (24), of Tullamaine, Fethard, Co Tipperary, died after O’Leary’s car struck his car at Price’s Lot, near Cashel, Co Tipperary, on July 12th, 2008.
O’Leary skidded through a field and smashed into the gable wall of a house, trapping a nine-year-old child under his car.
Sgt Liam Corcoran, of Cashel Garda station, told the court O’Leary had his son Raymond (12) and his son’s friend David McGeer (13) in the car at the time.
Sgt Corcoran said O’Leary had met Mr Cunningham “by chance” at a roundabout in Cashel and that the two proceeded at “exceptionally high speeds” for 3km along a rural road with an 80km limit.
O’Leary pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing Mr Cunningham’s death, and two counts of dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm to David McGeer and Jack Costello (9). Sgt Corcoran told the court the latter was playing hide-and-go-seek with friends outside his grandmother’s house when O’Leary’s car landed “out of the sky” on top of him.
The court heard Jack Costello’s father “noticed his child’s shoes sticking out from under the car” and used a forklift to free his son.
Sgt Corcoran said O’Leary drank two pints of beer before the crash. O’Leary told the court he “did a terrible thing” and apologised “unreservedly” to all injured parties.
Judge Thomas Teehan sentenced O’Leary to two years in prison for dangerous driving causing death and 18 months for the two other offences, to run concurrently. Judge Teehan also banned O’Leary from driving for a period of 12 years.