Erris farmer was badly injured and 16 sheep were killed in collision with tourists’ van

A tourist caused serious injuries to a farmer and killed a large number of his sheep when her van veered into his vehicle.

Madelaine Gimzewska, of Lower Brook Street, Basingstoke, Hampshire, United Kingdom, contested a charge of careless driving when she appeared before Belmullet District Court last week.

Local farmer Patrick Hegarty told the court that on the afternoon of September 25, 2022, he was returning from Porturlin to his home in Belmullet when the collision occurred at Bellagelly South, Glenamoy. Mr Hegarty said he was carrying 29 sheep in his Ford Transit pick-up. Weather conditions were good when he saw a blue Vauxhall van coming towards him in the distance. The vehicles were on a straight stretch of road close to the Corrib Gas terminal.

As the van drew closer he saw it do a "couple of shimmies" and then "took a wobble". When the van was about 500 yards away, it hit a grass verge and went up on two wheels before hitting the verge a second time and careering into the passenger side of his vehicle.

He said the accident occurred very quickly, but he remembered thinking – “Will my vehicle take the wallop".

“The first thing I did when I came to was look down to see were my two legs there,” Mr Hegarty told the court.

He said one of his legs was trapped but he managed to pull himself free and crawled along the road to take safety in a ditch.

Mr Hegarty thanked the emergency services and everyone who came to his aid that day. He sustained broken ribs, a damaged eye socket, a right eye injury, a broken nose, and bruising to his legs. The accident caused the death of 16 of his sheep.

He was hospitalised for two weeks and the sight in his eye remains compromised and will require surgery.

The accused suffered a fractured wrist and her husband, who was a passenger in the van, had to be airlifted to hospital with a broken leg.

The court heard Ms Gimzewska and her husband Alexander Jackson are doctors in the UK who were holidaying in Ireland when the accident occurred.

Gda John Lavery attended the scene at 5.20pm. He said several sheep were lying dead on the road and 13 were euthanised by a local vet. Two greyhounds belonging to Ms Gimzewska and her husband survived the crash.

He said the accused told him her van might have "gone a bit to the left", and when she tried to correct the van’s position, she lost control and had "three or four swerves". 

Gda Lavery said there were no defects on either vehicle. There was no evidence of speeding and the Vauxhall van was fitted with a speed limiter. The accused passed a roadside breath test.

He said grass verges in the area can be soft and boggy and Ms Gimzewska may not have been aware of this. The garda thought that she had a momentary lapse in concentration.

Mr Jackson told the court that he and his wife had split the driving on their journey which began in Larne that morning. He said his wife had been driving for approximately 45 minutes before the accident occurred.

He said his spouse is a cautious driver who has experience driving their van on country roads. Mr Jackson said there was "nothing untoward" about his wife’s driving on the day and she would never do anything to put the lives of their dogs at risk. 

“There is nothing in the world she loves more than the dogs and that includes me,” he remarked.

Mr Jackson said it had been raining "on and off" on the day. He believed the van skidded and hit the verge. 

“From what I observed it was an unfortunate accident,” he stated.

Ms Gimzewska said during their journey she had been moving the van’s position to allow other vehicles to pass comfortably.

She said she was alert and was not tired.

Insp Dermot Butler put it to the accused that she misjudged the width of the road when the accident occurred.

Carla Ray, BL, representing the accused, said she believed there was a reasonable doubt in the case. 

“Her vehicle may have caused the accident but the mens rea (criminal intent) was not present,” she argued.

However, Judge Fiona Lydon said that based on the evidence Ms Gimzewska was guilty of careless driving.

The court heard Ms Gimzewska has no previous convictions.

The judge opted not to impose a driving ban and fined the defendant €200. Recognisances were fixed in the event of an appeal.