Courts / Cork / Report

Motorist who caused 'life-altering injuries' in head-on collision has driving ban cut on appeal

Date
2022-12-15

Stage
Appeal

Primary locality
Cork

County
Cork

Summary

Paul Coen, 47, of Templemany, Buttevant, was sentenced in May 2021 to four years' imprisonment with the last year suspended for dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm after a head‑on collision at Quartertown Upper, Mallow, where a woman was seriously injured and air‑lifted to hospital. He also received six months' imprisonment for refusing to provide a urine or blood sample to Gardaí. The judge imposed a 10‑year driving ban, describing the crash as "like a bomb exploding." Coen's counsel argued the ban was unduly punitive, citing his mental health issues and rural employment needs. At the Court of Appeal, the ban was reduced by three years to seven, while the sentence remained unchanged. The appeal decision acknowledged the serious injuries sustained by the victim and the impact on her life, but also considered Coen's personal circumstances and the need for rehabilitation. Paul Coen pleaded guilty.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Motorist who caused 'life-altering injuries' in head-on collision has driving ban cut on appeal. Charges or matters: dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm at Quartertown Upper, Mallow, Co Cork and to refusing to give a urine or blood sample to gardaí when at Cork University Hospital on December 1, 2019. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

May 2021 Incident
December 1, 2019 Incident
2022-12-15 Publication

Case subjects

Paul Coen

Defendant

Charges: dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm at Quartertown Upper, Mallow, Co Cork and to refusing to give a urine or blood sample to gardaí when at Cork University Hospital on December 1, 2019 (Admitted)

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: At the sentence hearing, Detective Garda Patrick Sexton said Coen's Ford Focus went on to the wrong side of the road and into the path of a Toyota Corolla causing a head-on collision with a family on a shopping trip. At the Court of Appeal today, Coen's counsel Sinead Behan BL said the disqualification of 10 years was "unduly punitive" and that the five-year headline sentence fixed by the trial judge before mitigation was "excessive".