Meath motorist in fatal high speed collision with man on e-scooter jailed for three years
A motorist who was travelling at speeds estimated between 169kmh and 189kmh seconds before he fatally collided with a man on an e-scooter has been jailed for three years.
Matthew Mongan (24) pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death on Armagh Road, Dundalk, near the Carnbeg Hotel.
The man who lost his life was Seif Eddine Boudissa (27), a native of Algeria who had just left the hotel accompanied by his 26-year-old friend, who was in front of him on another e-scooter when the deceased was struck from behind as they headed towards Dundalk. His friend was injured.
The two men had been living in the Carnbeg Hotel operating as an IPAS centre.
The impact occurred shortly after 11pm on August 19, 2023, on a straight stretch of road governed by an 80kmh speed limit and a continuous white line at the relevant point. There was no street lighting.
Judge Dara Hayes said that Matthew Mongan had shown total disregard for his own safety and the safety of road users.
The cause of death and injuries was the egregiously excessive speed at which he was driving.
Present via video link from Algeria for the sentence hearing at Dundalk Circuit Court were the deceased’s mother and aunt, while other family members were in the courtroom.
They heard that at around 11pm Mongan left his girlfriend’s house in Coulter Place, Armagh Road, to get cigarettes.
He later told gardaí that his Audi A3 was too hard to run. There was a noise from the clutch. He wanted to make sure the car was okay for sale the next day.
CCTV from the Applegreen service station on Newry Road showed the Audi “revving and screeching” on the forecourt.
He then overtook other traffic at speed on the Armagh Road when the car was estimated to be travellng at between 172kmh and 187kmh in the minutes prior to impact, the calculations based on CCTV footage. He was seen side by side with another vehicle “racing rather than overtaking”.
The defendant did a u-tun on the road and was driving back towards Dundalk when the collision occurred. It was estimated he was doing 169kmh to 189kmh 170m prior to impact.
The two men on e-scooters had turned left out of the Carnbeg Hotel towards town. They were wearing dark clothing. There were no lights on Mr Boudissa’s e-scooter which was travelling 10m behind his friend’s in single file. Mr Merzogui’s e-scooter had lights.
The collision occurred 245m southeasf of the hotel. Mr Boudissa suffered “catastrophic” injuries. His e-scooter disintegrated “into several pieces”.
Mongan lost control of his car as it “flipped” and rolled a number of times before coming to rest 175m from the point of the collision. There were no signs of emergency braking.
The court heard that several motorists stopped. A woman rang emergency services at 11.18pm. She got no pulse and commenced CPR.
A man came up to her. He said that he had hit the man and that he didn’t see him.
Other witnesses recalled seeing Matthew Mongan distraught and in a distressed state.
The deceased’s companion, who was injured and subsequently hospitalised for several weeks, was sitting bloodied in a car which had stopped.
Sgt Damien McLogan testified that he arrived at 11.40pm. A doctor pronounced Mr Boudissa dead at the scene at 12.14am.
Matthew Mongan later told gardaí during an interview, “I wish it was me and not him. I would give my life in a second.”
He denied being a “boy racer” and when his driving in the Applegreen forecourt was put to him, the defendant’s explamation was that he was checking the clutch. He wanted to see if it was okay.
There were two previous convictions for Section 3 possession of drugs and a breach of Covid regulations.
A PSV report concluded that the Audi was not dangerously defective prior to the collision.
Sgt McLogan agreed with defence counsel Garnet Orange SC that it was a straight road, and that excessive speed was the major contributing factor to the collision. Matthew Mongan left himself with no margin for error.
Mr Orange said that his client had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity. He was upset and concerned at the scene.
He had written a letter to the court taking full responsibility.
His partner wrote that they had one daughter together, and that he had taken on her two sons as his own.
There was further corresponcence from his mother, a neighbour in Navan and a former teacher at Youthreach, Navan.
Judge Hayes noted the Victim Impact Statements from Mr Boudissa’s mother and aunt which described the terrible impact of his death. The court extended its condolences.
The judge said nothing the court could do could put right the enormous loss, and whatever penalty was imposed could not be a measure of Seif Eddine Boudissa’s life.
The collision also had a profound impact on Amar Merzogui’s life. He suffered a fractured forehead and nasal injuries and continued to suffer from a leg injury.
Judge Hayes continued that the defendant appeared to have been racing another car driver out the road, driving alongside for a time before he had turned around.
At a distance of 170m before the point of impact the car was esimated to be travelling at 169kmh to 189kmh. At 180kmh it would have taken less than 3.5 seconds to over that 170m.
The weather and road conditions were good and neither were a factor.
Matthew Mongan was fully licenced and insured. He had not consumed alcohol or other intoxicants and the court accepted his remorse as genuine. He remained at the scene.
In his letter he said it was the worst mistake he ever made. He didn’t know what possessed him to drive at that speed.
Judhe Hayes said that a young man had needlessly lost his life when coming to Ireland for better opportunities and another young man sustained serious injuries caused by the accused driving at hugely excessive speeds.
The evidence didn’t go as far as to say that the defendant had been racing at the time of the collision, although he had been doing so very shortly beforehand.
A four-year, three-month sentence was imposed, the final 15 months suspended, along with a 10-year driving disqualification.