Truck driver jailed for fatal accident in Mayo supermarket car park

A man whose truck struck and killed an elderly woman in a supermarket car park has been jailed.

Mihail Tanasevici, aged 42, of Woodford Road, Clondalkin, Dublin 22, pleaded guilty at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court to careless driving causing death. He also pleaded guilty to the lesser known traffic offence of allowing inessential items to be present in front of the windscreen.

Maureen Hopkins, aged 78, of Rosmoney, Carrowholly, Westport, died after she was struck by a Mercedes Benz truck in the car park of SuperValu, Westport on June 6, 2024.

Gda Tomas Ryan attended the scene shortly after the accident which occurred at 11.47am.

Mrs Hopkins had parked her car in SuperValu car park and was walking towards the rear entrance of the store. The delivery truck was in the car park and reversed to allow a vehicle to exit the car park. The driver then moved forward to allow another car exit the car park.

When the truck moved off again it collided with Mrs Hopkins as she approached from the driver’s left-hand side.

The grandmother of nine was fatally injured as a result of the impact.

Tanasevici has no previous convictions. A native of Moldova, he has a wife and four children back in his home country. He tested negative for alcohol and drugs and there was no mechanical defects found on the truck.

The defendant was delivering food produce to SuperValu for Tempside Ltd, trading as Polonez, when the accident occurred. The court was told he had driven the truck before but it was not his usual vehicle as his regular truck was in for maintenance.

The man told Gardaí he did not see Mrs Hopkins as she was in a blind spot and too close for him to spot her. The truck was driving at between 1km and 2km per hour when the impact happened. Tanasevici told Gardaí he barely moved the truck forward.

Gda Ryan said a number of non-essential items on the dashboard and a pelmet curtain may have impaired the driver’s vision. The items included stickers, a green canvas bag, decorative Mercedes lights and suction cup holders.

The court heard the pelmet may have obscured a cyclops camera which had been fitted to negate the blind spot issue.

Victim impact statements from Mrs Hopkins daughter Sinead and brother George Darcy were read in court. A statement from her husband Chris was also handed into the judge.

“The 6th of June is a day that will never leave me,” said Sinead. “There are no words to describe the shock of being told that our mother had been killed in SuperValu car park,” she stated.

Sinead said her Mum had previously battled cancer and beat it against all the odds. Her mother was determined to overcome cancer to have more time with her family.

“Now that I look at her life taken so cruelly and unavoidably, one cannot help but feel angry. Anger that I am robbed of the opportunity to thank her for all she did for me and my family. Anger that her final years with Dad were taken from them both and anger that our children will never receive the rest of her wisdom she had to share,” said Sinead.

She said the heartbreak and grief can be all-consuming, but she keeps going because it’s what her Mum would have wanted.

Sinead said that even though Tanasevici was responsible she is following the example set by her mother in bearing no ill will towards the defendant.

“Mum was kind, loving, caring and always ready with wise advice. Even now I feel I am guided by her words when I say that even though you are responsible, I hold no ill will towards you. I understand that you have a family and the very last thing Mum would have wanted is for another family to be as devastated and as traumatised as we are.” 

Mrs Hopkins was a native of Bagenalstown, Co Carlow. Her brother George said she is greatly missed in her homeplace and her loss leaves a void in the family that will never be filled.

“Our hearts are broken,” he commented.

He said his sister was a “great, wife, mother and grandmother” and they will miss the hugs that always greeted them on visits to Mayo.

Mr Darcy said the family had concerns about the length of time it took to bring the matter before the courts for finalisation.

“We asked that all State authorities involved in incidents like this please understand that the families and loved ones of the bereaved find the time taken to complete the investigations and progress through the various stages to be most difficult.”

Judge Eoin Garavan remarked that is clear that Mrs Hopkins was “the best type of mother and grandmother that there could be".

Senior counsel, Desmond Dockery, representing Tanasevici, said the accident was a “crushing tragedy", adding that his client was guilty of an “instance of momentary inattention”. The barrister said the defendant was grateful for the conciliatory tone contained in the victim impact statement delivered by Mrs Hopkins’ family.

The court heard that a designated loading bay is now in place in the car park following the incident. It was also stated that Tanasevici’s employers have since conducted a full fleet review and any pelmet curtains present in vehicles have been removed.

Judge Garavan said it was “astonishing” that such an item and the other inessential items were permitted at the time of the accident. He also remarked that the car park was “somewhat chaotic". 

“There were inherent dangers in the vehicle and the car park itself,” the Judge commented.

He said while the driver did not intend to harm anyone on that fateful day he had a “duty to take care". 

“I note the decency of the Hopkins family. They are not our for revenge or punishment,” Judge Garavan stated.

He said a short custodial sentence was warranted and jailed Tanasevici for five months.

“I do so genuinely with a heavy heart,” the judge added.

• Published as part of the Courts Reporting Scheme.