A Donegal lorry driver has been jailed for dangerous driving causing the death of a young man in Roscommon last year.
Shaun Curran of Middle Dore, Bunbeg, was today sent to prison for five years, with the final 12 months suspended, for the crash which took the life of 24-year-old Rian Sheridan, a native of Cluainluáin, Renvyle, Co Galway.
Curran (32) was also disqualified from driving for seven years, RTÉ News reports.
The crash between the defendant’s lorry and a car occurred at Newtown, Roscommon on the main Athlone to Roscommon road on 27 March 2024.
The late Rian Sheridan.
Mr Sheridan’s mother said they are “paying the ultimate price” for a truck driver’s dangerous driving and she has appealed to all commercial drivers to put safety above all else.
Mr Sheridan was returning from football training at the time of the collision.
At the sentencing hearing last week, the court heard how the truck that Curran was driving had a blowout as a result of a defective tyre which caused the fully loaded lorry to swerve to the wrong side of the road into oncoming traffic.
Evidence was given from the forensic collision investigation which found the front tyre was badly worn and unroadworthy.
CCTV footage also showed that Curran had checked the tyre twice on the date of the collision.
The court also heard that Curran had travelled 814 kms on the day, had not taken proper breaks and had four speeding infringements.
Sergeant Ronan O’Meara told the court that Curran was speeding just before the crash, travelling at 93 km/h.
In Ireland, the standard speed limit for HGVs is 80km/h on all roads except motorways, where it is 90 km/h.
The hearing also heard that Curran had made admissions around breaches of tachograph data, which records a driver’s activity including driving time, rest periods and vehicle speed and distance.
The court was told that Curran had used another driver’s tachograph card on the day of the crash and that card was in the truck at the time of the crash.
At sentencing today, Judge Kenneth Connolly said the tragic death of Rian Sheridan “was completely avoidable” if due adherence to the road traffic laws and due diligence in the maintenance and operation of a lorry had been observed by Curran.
He said “there is a particularly heavy onus upon the driver of such a large and powerful vehicle to ensure that not only his driving is careful and prudent but that his vehicle is roadworthy”.
He said in this case the vehicle trailer was fully laden with alcohol, turning such a vehicle when it lost control, into “a lethal force”.
“There is undoubtedly such a duty on every motorist, but the court considers it to be heightened in this case with reference to the vehicle and load in question.”
Addressing the family of Rian Sheridan, Judge Connolly once again sympathised and said that he is satisfied that society has been robbed of a very special young man.
“I have no doubt the loss of this fine young man has been shattering to those left behind,” he said.
“This loss can never be replaced and accordingly the adverse effects of this offending will be felt and endured life-long.”
The sentencing hearing last week was told that Curran who had a “fledgling business” with three trucks on the road, all of which he had been repaying loans for, had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.
He had alerted gardaí to dashcam footage from the truck and had made admissions around the misuse of the tachograph.
The court heard that he expressed remorse about what had happened, and an apology was read to the court in which he said he takes full responsibility for what happened.
Judge Connolly said today there is some genuine remorse evident on the part of Curran, however, he said this is something he refuses to call an accident given the elements of inevitability for something most awful to occur as a result of deliberate choices and decisions of the accused.
“This loss of life is something that will also remain with him for his lifetime, but his future actions may, perhaps lessen his burden. This, again, is his choice,” the judge said.
Read the full report on www.rte.ie
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