Patrick McArdle jailed for careless driving causing death

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Patrick McArdle was sentenced to 10 months in prison at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. He admitted careless driving causing the death of Slawomir Korytowski. The proceedings were reported on 7 February 2018.

On 3 July 2015, McArdle drove out of a loading bay at North Wall Quay in Dublin and crossed onto the wrong side of the road for less than 10 seconds. Korytowski swerved to avoid his truck. Judge Martin Nolan said it was likely that Korytowski panicked, braked and was thrown from his motorcycle under another truck.

Judge Nolan described the collision as an accident and a misjudgment. He said there was no question of speed or recklessness on McArdle’s part, but that his having driven while disqualified warranted a custodial sentence. The court heard McArdle had been banned from driving for six years for drink-driving the year before the collision.

McArdle was also disqualified from driving for six years. A defence barrister submitted a handwritten apology on his behalf and said he remained haunted by what happened.