The Court of Appeal has resentenced Sean Ward after finding that the suspension of two years from his six-year prison term for dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm made the sentence unduly lenient to an appreciable extent.
The court quashed the sentence imposed by the Circuit Court in Dundalk on 17 May 2018 and reimposed a six-year term, this time suspending the final nine months. The suspended portion is subject to the same terms as before: good behaviour in custody and for two years after release. The appeal judgment does not state a change to the concurrent six-month sentence for driving without insurance or the ten-year driving disqualification imposed at the original sentencing.
Ward had appealed the severity of his sentence, while the Director of Public Prosecutions applied for a review on grounds of undue leniency. During oral argument, Ward’s counsel focused on opposing the Director’s application. The Court of Appeal granted leave for Ward to withdraw his severity appeal.
The court said the six-year headline sentence might have been higher, but was not itself so lenient as to justify intervention. It found, however, that suspending two years was unjustified, given Ward’s previous convictions and the fact that he was driving while disqualified. The judges said there was little scope for suspension from a six-year starting point.
The sentence arose from a head-on collision at Carnbeg, Dundalk, on 3 October 2015. The court said witnesses and collision evidence placed the impact on Ward’s side of the road while he was overtaking at speed. The injured driver, Natasha Keenan, suffered multiple serious injuries and continuing effects. The judgment described further surgery and long-term deterioration in her ankle joints.
The court also considered Ward’s circumstances, including a letter from his wife and certificates indicating that he had used his time in custody productively. It nevertheless concluded that the original suspended portion could not stand. The resentencing replaced the Circuit Court sentence; the judgment records no other change to the concurrent insurance sentence or driving disqualification.