Courts / Dublin / Report

Visually-impaired driver who caused death of woman (70) is jailed for 5 years

Date
2018-05-11

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, 42‑year‑old postman David Byrne was convicted of dangerous driving causing the death of 70‑year‑old Patricia Dunne. Byrne, who suffers from Type 2 Usher Syndrome, had previously pleaded not guilty to the charge and to related offences of dishonestly inducing the National Driving Licence Service to issue a licence and making a false statement on an insurance application. The jury found him guilty on all three counts. Judge Patricia Ryan sentenced him to five years' imprisonment, reducing the headline figure of eight years to five on the basis of mitigating factors such as his cooperation, good record and remorse. Byrne was ordered to attend his son's First Holy Communion before reporting to Mountjoy Prison. The sentence includes treatment for his medical condition while incarcerated.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Visually-impaired driver who caused death of woman (70) is jailed for 5 years. Charges or matters: dangerous driving causing the death of Mrs Dunne at Collins Avenue East, Killester in Dublin on October 16, 2015; dishonestly inducing the National Driving Licence Service (NDLS) to issue him with a driving licence on September 30, 2014. Procedural stage: sentence. Findings: Convicted

When:

October 16, 2015 Other
September 30, 2014 Hearing Or Sentence
September 16, 2015 Hearing Or Sentence
2018-05-11 Publication

Case subjects

Postman David Byrne

Convicted Person

Charges: dangerous driving causing the death of Mrs Dunne at Collins Avenue East, Killester in Dublin on October 16, 2015; dishonestly inducing the National Driving Licence Service (NDLS) to issue him with a driving licence on September 30, 2014 (Proven)

Plea: Not guilty

Finding: Convicted

Outcome: Convicted; At the sentence hearing last week, Mrs Dunne's son read from his victim impact statement and said his family would never forgive Byrne. She also noted that Byrne had an excellent employment record, that a custodial sentence would cause hardship to him and his family and that Mrs Dunne's death had affected him psychologically.