The Court of Appeal has rejected an attempt by the Director of Public Prosecutions to increase the sentence imposed on a Carrigaline driver who struck an 11-year-old girl as she crossed the road at traffic lights.
Kieran Crowley received a 12-month sentence, fully suspended on conditions including payment of €4,000, after pleading guilty to careless driving causing serious bodily harm. He was not disqualified from driving.
The collision happened on April 13, 2022, as the girl was walking home from the post office in Carrigaline, County Cork. She waited for a green pedestrian light before crossing. CCTV viewed by the appeal court showed Crowley turning towards the crossing while an oncoming lorry impaired his view. He did not slow down, drove through a red light and struck her.
The girl suffered fractures to her right tibia and fibula and required surgery to insert plates and screws, followed by a second operation about 10 months later to remove them. Victim impact statements from her parents described significant physical and psychological effects.
The DPP argued that the sentence was unduly lenient, pointing to the absence of a driving disqualification, the fully suspended term and what it said was insufficient weight given to aggravating factors and general deterrence.
Crowley, who was 53 at sentencing, had no previous convictions and had worked as a hackney driver in Carrigaline for more than 20 years. The sentencing judge also took account of his guilty plea and an advanced driving course completed after that plea.
Delivering the Court of Appeal decision, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy said the DPP had to show more than simple leniency. The sentence had to amount to a substantial or gross departure from the norm caused by an error of principle.
The court was not satisfied that threshold had been met. It dismissed the appeal, leaving the original suspended sentence and absence of a driving disqualification unchanged.