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Car can be 'maiming machine', judge warns as careless driver avoids jail
Summary
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, Judge Pauline Codd imposed a 17‑month suspended prison sentence and a two‑year driving disqualification on 29‑year‑old Frienna Rockett of Ballybrack, Kilmacthomas, Co. Waterford. Rockett pleaded guilty to one count of careless driving causing serious bodily harm after she broke a red light at a pedestrian crossing on St Peter's Road, Crumlin, and knocked down an 81‑year‑old woman. CCTV and dash‑cam footage showed the red‑light violation; Rockett claimed she was looking for her sister's house and had misread the traffic light. The victim suffered a brain bleed, multiple fractures and a dislocated shoulder, requiring intensive care and rehabilitation. She now lives with chronic pain, relies on a walking aid and a mobility scooter, and has a son as her full‑time carer.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Car can be 'maiming machine', judge warns as careless driver avoids jail. Charges or matters: one count of careless driving causing serious bodily harm on December 16, 2022. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- December 16, 2022 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2025-06-04 Publication
Why: Frienna Rockett (29) was not paying attention to the road because she was trying to find her sister's home when she broke the red light at a pedestrian crossing on St Peter's Road, Crumlin and ploughed into the 81-year-old woman, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard. Court evidence reported by CNI
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: one count of careless driving causing serious bodily harm on December 16, 2022 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Judge Pauline Codd made the comments while imposing a 17-month suspended prison sentence on a driver who broke a red light and knocked down an elderly lady as she crossed the road, leaving her in pain "all day, every day" with life-changing injuries. Imposing sentence today, Judge Codd said Rockett's "carelessness was more than a momentary lapse" and that she had allowed the search for her sister's house "to become a distraction".
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