Truck driver is convicted of causing crash at junction
The defendant denied the charge when he appeared before Castlebar District Court.
A truck driver has been found guilty of causing a collision.
Anthony McInerney, Brickhill East, Cratloe, Co Clare pleaded not guilty at Castlebar District Court to careless driving.
Gda Barry Walsh told the court he received a report of a road traffic collision at Shanvaghera, Knock at around 11.45am on January 23, 2021. When he arrived at the scene, he observed a black Skoda Octavia with damage to its front passenger wing. He spoke to the driver, Michael Feehily, Aghamore, who said a van had come across the road in front of him. Gda Walsh also spoke to PJ O’Connor of Taugheen, Claremorris, the driver of the van, a Mercedes Sprinter, who said he was rear-ended by a truck while making a right-turn.
The Garda then spoke to the truck driver, Anthony McInerney, who said he had been overtaken quickly by the van, which braked suddenly, causing him to collide with it.
Mr O’Connor told the court he had been delivering flowers on the day of the incident. He had come to the junction and was stopped for between 20 and 30 seconds waiting to make the turn when he was hit from behind. He denied overtaking the truck and also said he was not using a GPS or mobile phone at the time.
McInerney told the court he had been driving at around 75km/hr and his truck was equipped with a limiter to prevent him from exceeding 80km/hr. He was "about 10 seconds away" from the junction when a van overtook him, pulled back in front of him, and stopped suddenly. He braked hard but was unable to prevent a collision from taking place.
Judge Vincent Deane said he had been presented with two different versions of events and if McInerney’s version of events were true, it would constitute "mad driving" on Mr O’Connor’s part. The judge said he was satisfied that Mr O’Connor’s evidence "reflected the reality of what happened".
Solicitor Eamon Dillon said his client has been working as a professional driver for over 30 years and the conviction will severely impact his insurance. McInerney had no previous convictions.
Judge Deane imposed a fine of €500.
