Pedestrian suffered injuries in Kiltimagh collision
The defendant denied the charge when he appeared before Castlebar District Court.
A retired Garda sergeant has been fined after his vehicle struck an elderly woman while she crossed the main street in Kiltimagh.
Danny Doherty, aged 79, Gortgrave, Kiltimagh, pleaded not guilty at Castlebar District Court to a charge of careless driving.
Gda Dermot O’Connor told the court that he responded to a report of a road traffic collision on the R320 at Main Street, Kiltimagh, on August 11, 2022. When the garda arrived at the scene, there was a vehicle pulled up on the road and a female, Frances Grufferty, from Athy, Co Kildare on the ground in front of the car. Mrs Grufferty had been hit by the car, which was driven by the defendant The incident occurred in the vicinity of the Cill Aodain Court Hotel.
Gda O'Connor took a statement from Mr Doherty, who told him he had watched the traffic carefully on both sides before pulling out of the nearby Square. After the incident, he left his car and attempted to come to the aid of the victim.
Mrs Grufferty told the court she had been staying at the Cill Aodain Court. She came out of the hotel, looked both ways to safely cross the street, and walked across. Suddenly, she was struck by Mr Doherty's vehicle. She suffered a broken arm and two broken ribs.
A witness, Lisa Kilduff, from Knock, told the court she was driving towards Swinford when the collision occurred about 30 or 40 feet in front of her.
The witness said she saw a car, driven by the defendant, pull out of the Square and then hit a woman, Mrs Grufferty, who had been crossing the street and was nearly fully across when the incident occurred. Ms Kilduff described it as a "one-second incident".
The defendant told the court that the road had been busy that day and he was being attentive to the traffic. He collided with Mrs Grufferty before he saw her and believed there was nothing he could have done differently to prevent the accident, adding that she “came very suddenly” in front of his car. He said he had been driving at around 5km an hour when the accident occurred.
Solicitor Gary Mulchrone said that the standard of proof for a charge of careless driving had not been met by the State. His client had driven with due care and attention and was very attentive to the traffic coming from both directions.
Judge Vincent Deane accepted that accidents such as this can happen but said Ms Kilduff’s evidence of the incident made it clear that Mr Doherty was guilty of careless driving.
Mr Mulchrone said his client is a retired Garda sergeant and this incident had upset him.
Judge Deane imposed a fine of €350.
