Courts / Dublin / Report
Garda pays fine and makes donation to charity after careless driving caused death
Summary
Warren Farrell, a 33‑year‑old Garda from Ballyfermot, was driving a marked patrol car when he struck 75‑year‑old Elizabeth Core on Fonthill Road South, Dublin, on 28 August 2014. He pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving causing death but was convicted by a jury on an alternative charge of careless driving causing death. Judge Cormac Quinn, at a sentence hearing in March, ordered Farrell to pay €5,000 to the Irish Road Victims' Association and a €2,000 fine within four months, with a proposed nine‑month prison term deferred under Section 100 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006. The judge confirmed Farrell had complied with the conditions and therefore did not impose the prison sentence. The court noted Farrell's speed was 50‑56 km/h, above the 50 km/h limit, and that he had failed to slow down after seeing Core cross the road.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Garda pays fine and makes donation to charity after careless driving caused death. Charges or matters: dangerous driving causing the death of Mrs Core at Fonthill Road South, Dublin, on August 28, 2014. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- August 28, 2014 Incident
- December 2018 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2019-07-22 Publication
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: dangerous driving causing the death of Mrs Core at Fonthill Road South, Dublin, on August 28, 2014 (Alleged Or Contested)
Plea: Not guilty
Outcome: At a sentence hearing in March, Judge Quinn had ordered Gda Farrell pay €5,000 over to the Irish Road Victims' Association and pay a €2,000 fine in the following four months. At the sentence hearing last March, Judge Quinn said there was a tension between the duty imposed on gardaí to respond to calls as quickly as possible and the duty not to endanger the public.
Places mentioned
- Dublin
- Dublin Circuit Criminal Court
- Fonthill Road
- Dublin
- Irish Road
Topics
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