Courts / Dublin / Report

Deliberations begin in M50 crash trial

Date
2023-11-22

Stage
Trial

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

The jury in the trial of Gerry Daly, 57, of Derby Lodge, Brownstown, The Curragh, Kildare, has begun deliberations after the court heard that Daly was charged with dangerous driving causing the death of Jacqueline Griffin, 39, at junction five of the M50 on 24 January 2019. The prosecution alleged that Daly's collision forced Griffin into crash barriers, resulting in her instant death from catastrophic head injuries. Daly pleaded not guilty. In his closing speech, defence counsel Roderick O'Hanlon argued that Daly was in an autonomous condition due to diabetes and extremely low blood sugar, which he claimed impaired brain function and awareness at the time of the crash. O'Hanlon said Daly could not have known where he was or what had happened. Prosecuting counsel Garnet Orange countered that the automatism defence was unsuitable, noting that Daly had known how to manage his diabetes and had failed to take simple precautions to avoid the danger.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Deliberations begin in M50 crash trial. Charges or matters: dangerous driving causing the death of Jacqueline Griffin (39) at junction five of the M50 on January 24, 2019. Procedural stage: trial

When:

January 24, 2019 Hearing Or Sentence
2023-11-22 Publication

Why: He explained that the defence requires a "complete loss of control" and said that a defendant cannot avoid criminal responsibility when they have "failed to do something that may have avoided the danger to somebody else. Defence account reported by CNI