Driver who reversed over child receives suspended sentence

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

Dariusz Skowronski pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to careless driving causing serious bodily harm. He was given a 12-month sentence, suspended in full. The proceedings were reported on 13 October 2025.

The offence occurred on 17 May 2022. Skowronski struck a three-year-old girl while reversing into a driveway in Cappagh, stopped briefly, then continued reversing. He did not see the child, who was scooting past the driveway and was not visible above the car’s rear window. He realised he had run over her only after getting out of the vehicle and immediately called the emergency services.

The child suffered skull fractures and a severe acquired brain injury. Medical reports said all aspects of her daily life would be affected in the future.

Judge Martin Nolan said Skowronski should have stopped after feeling the first impact. He suspended the sentence in full, saying he considered imprisonment unfair and found no aggravating factors beyond the mistake of continuing to drive.