The Court of Appeal allowed Anthony Handley’s appeal against the severity of his sentence for dangerous driving causing death or serious bodily harm, finding that the two-year custodial term was unduly harsh and that the sentencing judge had made errors of principle.
Handley had pleaded guilty and was convicted at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on 5 April 2016. He was sentenced on 10 May 2016 to two years in prison and disqualified from driving for ten years. The Court of Appeal re-sentenced him on 17 February 2017 to two years, suspending the unserved portion for one year on condition that he enter a €100 bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour.
The charge arose from a crash shortly after midday on 17 January 2014, on the Dublin Road towards Balbriggan. Handley lost control of his car and struck Olivia Dunne, who was pushing her infant daughter Éabha in a buggy. Dunne died at the scene. Éabha suffered serious injuries and was left with permanent scarring and a limp; the judgment said she would require further foot surgery. The judgment described the cause as likely that Handley fell asleep, an explanation he ultimately accepted when he pleaded guilty.
The appeal court said the sentencing judge unfairly penalised Handley for the timing of his guilty plea, wrongly suggested his efforts to investigate a possible medical cause diminished his remorse, and gave insufficient weight to the mitigating circumstances, particularly his role as his estranged wife’s main carer. The court also found the net prison term unduly harsh.
The court noted that there was no evidence of alcohol, excessive speed or prior dangerous driving, and that Handley had no previous road-traffic convictions. It also referred to evidence that he had slept for what was normal for him and had been undertaking relatively short urban journeys. The court acknowledged the severe consequences for Dunne’s family and daughter.
The appeal court’s order changed the custodial sentence. The ten-year driving disqualification imposed at first instance was described as justified; the judgment does not state that it was changed.