Victim’s family hit out at drink driving culture
Sean Collins, aged 70, of The Bungalow, Threegneeves, Leap, Co Cork, pleaded guilty to charges of driving without due care and attention thereby causing the death of Stefan Cooper at Barley Hill, Roscarberry.
Collins also pleaded guilty to driving a car with excess alcohol — 140 mgs of alcohol per 100 mls of blood at a time when the limit was 50 mgs.
He had a previous drink-driving conviction from 2006.
At Cork Circuit Criminal Court, Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin imposed a one-year suspended jail term for the careless driving causing death, a €500 fine for the drink driving, and a disqualification from driving for five years.
Defence barrister Donal O’Sullivan asked the judge to consider the dependence of the defendant’s housebound wife on him.
Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin said: “This is a very sad case where a young man was killed on the road. This man collided with him on a dark, wet, miserable night in March 2016. The boy on the bike had neither lighting nor visibility jacket. He was wearing dark clothing. Attention was brought to him being on the road by other road users. The others saw him [the cyclist] but avoided him. This man [the defendant] obviously was not keeping a proper lookout.
“That, to me, is the kernel of the case. The fundamental, basic duty on all car drivers is to keep a proper lookout.”
The judge noted from the deceased’s father’s victim impact statement that no sentence on the defendant would ameliorate the suffering of the Cooper family.
Giving the background to the incident, Detective Garda Mark Curtis said one motorist who passed the man shortly before the accident saw that he was about a metre out from the hard shoulder and he turned his car to go back to offer him a lift home. However, the fatal accident had occurred before this motorist made it back.
Stefan’s father, Christy, said: “I had to identify the victim of a road traffic accident on Barley Hill as my 18-year-old son, Stefan. Once I had done this I knew that, before long, this information would be on social media and Stefan’s two sisters were at home on their own. I had to make the most difficult decision of my life, whether to stay with Stefan and risk my girls finding out about his death from someone else. Eventually I had to leave my son on the side of a wet road in the company of strangers to protect my daughters.
“A short time later, I was once again the bearer of bad news that would change our lives together.”
Stefan’s mother died in October 2007 from cancer.
Stefan had been studying horticulture in Bantry and his family recalled that he was never happier than when he was working away in his polytunnel.
“Stefan was an outgoing, happy, talkative young man, who worked with me and accompanied me on most journeys when not at his course. I miss him terribly,” Christy said .
“Stefan was a fit, handsome, intelligent, funny, decent and kind young man who never got the opportunity to fulfil his undoubted potential. Our lives are shattered. Our hearts are broken.”
Michaela described the impact of death of her brother.
“I don’t understand how someone can go out onto a road and drive when they are under the influence of alcohol,” she said. “The sad part is a lot of people do it and it is unfortunate that the man who did it in this case took my brother’s life.”
