The Court of Appeal has dismissed the Director of Public Prosecutions’ application to review as unduly lenient a 21-month prison sentence imposed on Kevin McMenamin for dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm.
The court said the sentence could be described as lenient, but the DPP had not shown that it was a substantial departure from the appropriate sentence. The sentence and a five-year driving disqualification therefore remain in place.
McMenamin pleaded guilty on 24 October 2023 to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm. Driving without a licence and driving without insurance were taken into account. He was sentenced on 19 January 2024.
The offence occurred on 22 July 2021. The judgment says McMenamin was driving a three-axle truck along Herbert Park towards Morehampton Road when he turned left without indicating. A cyclist travelling alongside the front of the truck was knocked down and trapped underneath it. She spent eight days in an induced coma and 19 weeks in hospital, underwent major pelvic surgery and multiple operations for injuries to her hip, leg and ankle, including skin graft surgery.
The DPP argued that the sentencing judge had given insufficient weight to the driving, the victim’s injuries, McMenamin’s previous road traffic convictions and his disqualification at the time. The DPP also argued that the sentence gave too much weight to mitigation and failed to reflect deterrence. McMenamin’s counsel submitted that the sentencing judge had properly considered the relevant factors and stayed within the court’s discretion.
The Court of Appeal said the driving was dangerous, involving a heavy goods vehicle in a residential area, a left turn through a red light without warning, and failure to notice the cyclist. It also noted McMenamin was not licensed or insured and had a long history of road traffic offences. The court said imprisonment was merited.
It also considered his early guilty plea, genuine remorse, work history and good character references. The court noted there was no speed, intoxication or mobile phone use involved. It concluded the 21-month term adequately reflected general and specific deterrence and did not meet the legal threshold for intervention under the Criminal Justice Act 1993. The application was dismissed.