Dental nurse given suspended sentence after hitting student and leaving scene

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Ruth Kavanagh was given a 15-month sentence, suspended in full on condition that she keep the peace and be of good behaviour for two years. She had pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to careless driving causing serious bodily harm after hitting a student at Firhouse Road, Dublin, on October 18th, 2022, and driving away without stopping to help.

The court heard Kavanagh had broken a red light at a pedestrian crossing while driving to work and knocked down a Leaving Cert student walking to school. The student broke two bones in her foot and missed two weeks of school. Kavanagh’s car was identified through creche CCTV, and she entered her guilty plea on the first day of her trial. The judge declined a defence request to deal with the case under Section 100 of the Criminal Justice Act, which would have allowed Kavanagh to avoid a criminal conviction.