Young woman is jailed for hit and run accident

A YOUNG student who was involved in a hit and run accident in which a Gorey woman was thrown over a ditch and left lying seriously injured for an hour, was sentenced to one year in prison by Judge Cormac Quinn at Wexford Circuit Court.

Chloe Bates (21) of Summerfield, Ballycale, Gorey, was given a 12-month sentence on a charge of careless driving causing serious injury and a four-month sentence, to run concurrently for failing to stop at the scene of the accident at Millands, Gorey on May 28, 2018.

Summing up the evidence, Judge Quinn said Pamela Levingston (61) was walking her dogs at approximately 7.25 a.m. and was correctly facing in the direction of oncoming traffic.

She saw the accused’s car approach and moved in as much as she could. She was struck by the car, which did not stop.

The injured party sustained serious multiple injuries, including thoracic injuries, rib fractures and injuries to her arm, knee and leg and required emergency surgery. Medical and orthopaedic reports were handed into the court.

Judge Quinn said Ms Levingston’s left knee is likely to need knee joint replacement surgery in the future.

Ms Levingston was found by a local resident who heard a noise and searched the area. They then alerted the emergency services.

She was taken to a Dublin hospital and a garda investigation was launched into the accident and a detailed search was carried out of the scene. A public appeal was made for witnesses.

Initially, the defendant’s mother spoke to gardaí, saying her daughter may have been involved in an accident and then the accused presented herself at a garda station. Her mobile phone was seized but there was no suggestion that she was on the phone at the time of the accident.

Ms Levingstone’s DNA was subsequently found on the car driven by the accused, who was on her way to work that morning after staying in a friend’s house the night before. There was no suggestion that she was impaired by alcohol. She had no previous convictions.

Judge Quinn said it was clear from the Victim Impact Report that the injured party suffered very serious injuries, some of which will be life long. She was lying in the ditch for approximately an hour before she was found.

He said the location of the accident was a relatively narrow country road which required a driver to keep a look out for pedestrians and to be able to stop. There were no weather condition issues or impaired visibility at the time.

The injured party was walking on the correct side of the road. The impact, which propelled the injured party over the ditch, was on the front passenger side of the car and the window and wing mirror were shattered.

DNA found on the windscreen and bonnet of the car matched the injured party. One of the injured party’s shoes was lying on the ground.

If the accused had stopped and examined the damage to the car and seen the injured party’s shoe, it would have been obvious that she may have accidentally struck a pedestrian and should have stopped, he said.

The situation required her to negotiate the bend having regard to the presence of a pedestrian.

Judge Quinn noted that Colman Cody SC for the accused had stated it was a moment’s inattention which put the accident at the lower end of the careless driving scale.

‘I do not accept it was a momentary lapse on the lower end of the scale’, he said, adding that in his view it was at the higher end of careless driving.

The injured party saw the defendant’s car approach and attempted to move in and was propelled up on the windscreen and over the ditch.

The accused wasn’t aware she had hit a pedestrian but was aware she had hit something and did not stop.

Judge Quinn said he would take into account the defendant’s young age and personal circumstances and her plea to careless driving, which was a ‘relatively early plea’ in the words of Mr Cody. She was attending college and working parttime.

He took into account that she had no previous convictions, her apology and her remorse and the fact that she agreed to have her car technically examined.

Judge Quinn said the headline sentence for the careless driving charge was 18 months and he imposed a sentence of 12 months with four months concurrent on the charge of failing to stop at the scene of an accident.