Louth motorist cleared of careless driving causing death of 84-year-old pedestrian
The Drogheda IndependentA jury has found a 38-year-old man “not guilty” of careless driving causing death in a trial at Dundalk Circuit Court.
Charles Halligan, Brookville Park, Drogheda, was accused of that charge following a collision which occurred in Drogheda town centre which claimed the life of Francis (Frankie) Reilly (84) from Ardee.
The defendant, who has no previous convictions, was driving his partner’s black Opel Insignia up Dominic Street, shortly after 2pm on May 25, 2023, when it struck Mr Reilly, who was walking along West Street, at the junction of the two streets.
The jury heard that “unusually” traffic on the Local road of Dominic Street had the right of way onto West Street, a Regional route. It was right turn only from Dominic Street onto West Street.
CCTV footage of the impact was played in court. Evidence was given that it was a distressing scene.
A motorist travelling behind Mr Halligan on Dominic Street said that she saw an elderly man in a peaked cap crossing over the road.
He was waving a little ticket in his hand. She presumed that he was coming from the nearby bookies.
“I don’t think he was looking where he was going,” the witness said.
A pedestrian walking with his wife in the opposite direction to Mr Reilly testified that he saw a black car driving slowly as it turned the corner.
He spotted an old man with something in his hand. This person fell and hit the side of the car.
The car was still moving. He knocked on the door to tell the driver to stop. The driver was still looking to his left.
Inspector Michael Parry Jones was a sergeant on mountain bike patrol at the time when he happened upon the scene.
He said that he administered First Aid before Mr Reilly was removed by ambulance. He then secured the scene until it reopened at 5.44pm.
The defendant passed a roadside breath test.
The court heard that Mr Reilly was pronounced dead at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital at 3.02pm. He died from a serious head injury and associated large blood loss.
There was neither alcohol nor drugs in his system.
In a voluntary cautioned statement made to gardaí at 5.40pm the same day, Charles Halligan said he was returning home from Primeline Logistics, Ashbourne, after working a 5am to 1.30pm shift which he had been doing for the previous two years.
As he drove up Dominic Street he saw two pedestrians on the left waiting to cross and one on the right-hand side.
He was doing around 20kmh. There were no cars in front of him. He was not in a queue.
Near the top he glanced left to make sure no cars were coming. He had checked both sides.
Mr Halligan continued that as he turned onto West Street the pedestrian on the right was on the road in front of his car. The right side of the car hit him, maybe near the wheel arch.
He immediately stopped and went to get out but heard someone shouting something like “his legs”, so he moved the car back.
He saw the pedestrian lying on the ground on his back. The car wasn’t on his legs. The man’s shoe had come off. He could see a betting slip in his hand.
The defendant said he was asked to move the car back another bit for the ambulance.
His statement concluded that he had a full driving driving licence since 2008. He was also qualified to drive trucks. He said that he was a careful driver.
Gda Gerard Dowd, Forensic Collision Investigator, used CCTV footage for his analysis.
He said that the Opel Insignia was travelling at 21kmh on Dominic Street, 45m before the collision point. The speed limit is 50kmh.
Mr Reilly didn’t appear to turn his head towards the approaching vehicle as he took the first two steps off the footpath. When taking a third shortened step he appeared to look at the car.
At the point he stepped onto the road it was 1.5 seconds until the collision. It was 1.4 seconds after the collision that the car came to a stop, which he described as a reasonable time to react.
A “side swipe type” collision occurred at 2.09pm, Gda Dowd added.
A PSV report concluded that the car was in a good pre-collision condition.
In his closing speech to the jury, prosecuting counsel Steven Dixon said that it was a sad case.
"There are no winners out of it. Two ordinary people were going about their ordinary day.”
Mr Dixon said that the case should not be decided on sympathy. The question was whether the driving fell below the reasonable standard of a prudent driver.
He submitted that the accused saw the potential hazard, the pedestrians. He had the right of way. That didn’t mean he should not have been cautious.
He had 1.5 seconds to stop. There was no attempt to stop. It was a further 1.4 seconds before he did.
Mr Dixon said that this was not an unavoidable split-second event.
Defence senior counsel Garnet Orange, with Ronan O’Carroll BL, instructed by solicitor Paul Moore, remarked that it was a difficult case with sensitivities to it.
The CCTV footage was undoubtedly difficult viewing, showing how a decent man met his untimely death.
Mr Orange submitted that Charles Halligan was looking around him. He was conscious and alert to his environment.
He did not wish to speak ill of the dead, but Mr Reilly was not watching where he was going. He “sailed out” into that junction.
He may have wrongly felt he had the right of way. He may have assumed that traffic coming down West Street had the right of way.
After deliberating for 45 minutes, the jury returned a unanimous “not guilty” verdict.
Judge Dara Hayes remarked it was a difficult case. Mr Reilly had lost his life.
It was not an easy thing to hear the evidence and see the evidence.
The judge expressed his sympathy to the deceased’s family members. It was a tragic way for Mr Reilly to lose his life.
Turning to Mr Halligan, Judge Hayes said that he was free to go.