Courts / Galway / Report

Drunk-driver who crashed in to pedestrian and left him a double amputee gets three years suspended from sentence

Date
2014-11-17
Stage
Appeal
Primary locality
Galway
County
Galway

Summary

In November 2014 the Court of Appeal reduced the sentence of Marius Strelciunas, 33, who had been jailed for five years for dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm to a 22‑year‑old college student on 23 December 2012. Strelciunas, who was approximately four‑and‑a‑half times over the legal alcohol limit, struck the victim on a path while driving toward Barna, leaving the victim with one leg amputated above the knee and the other below the knee. The appeal court found that the trial judge had erred in principle by not giving sufficient weight to mitigating factors such as Strelciunas' early guilty plea, remorse, and only one minor prior conviction. Consequently, the court suspended three of the five years of the original sentence and reduced the 20‑year driving ban to five years, back‑dating both the sentence and the disqualification to 29 January 2014.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Drunk-driver who crashed in to pedestrian and left him a double amputee gets three years suspended from sentence. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

Places mentioned

Court Venue
  • Court of Appeal
  • Galway
  • Galway Circuit Criminal Court
Residence
Journey Or Route

Topics

Road Traffic Stage Appeal

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