A Dublin man has been sentenced to three and a half years in jail for knocking down a Donegal teenager and causing serious injury.
The Irish Times reports that John Maguire (38) of Kerlogue Road, Ringsend, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious harm to Josh Sweeney at Memorial Road, Dublin on March 18th, 2017.
The Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that doctors had warned John Maguire not to drive for a year after his last epileptic seizure.
Maguire was driving his van two months after the doctor’s warning when he had a fit and knocked down Mr Sweeney, who is now 20 years old, when he was crossing at a green pedestrian traffic light. Maguire later told gardaí he had no recollection of the collision.
As a result of the incident, Mr Sweeney suffered skull fractures, brain injury and broken limbs and was left incapacitated. He has ongoing physical and cognitive disability and is completely dependent on his family.
Maguire, who has no previous convictions, also pleaded guilty to driving while suffering from a disease or mental disability which would render him a danger to the public.
Judge Martin Nolan told Maguire that despite the clear mitigating circumstances in the case, he had a “serious moral culpability” by ignoring an obvious risk.
Maguire was jailed for three and a half years out of a maximum 10 year prison term and disqualified him from driving for six years.