‘Drink-drivers must be jailed to protect lives’

THE daughter of a pensioner killed in an accident involving a drink-driver has called for a mandatory jail sentences for all drink-drive convictions.

Mary McDonnell’s father, Liam McDonnell, 66, died and two gardaí were hurt when they were struck by a car being driven by Adrian Nestor.

Nestor, 44, was originally given community service at Galway Circuit Criminal Court but on Tuesday judges at the Court of Appeal sent him to jail for two years instead.

Now Ms McDonnell is calling for mandatory jail sentences for drinkdrive convictions.

She said: ‘No-one gets behind the wheel of a car and sets out to kill someone but if the prospect of possibly harming or killing yourself or others isn’t enough to deter you from drink-driving then our courts need to do this; there should be mandatory sentencing for a drink-drive conviction.

‘Drivers have a responsibility when they get behind the wheel and our laws should reflect the seriousness of that responsibility.’

She also said: ‘What happened at the appeal was right, and none of us, including his own family, should have had to go through two more days in court.

‘He should have been sentenced in Galway and we should have been given closure there and then.

‘If you’re asking about justice being served, what’s most important for me is deterrence.’

Nestor, 44, of Kilcolgan, Co. Galway, was more than five times the drink-drive limit when he struck a garda car near Ardrahan, Co. Galway, on February 1, 2016.

Mr McDonnell, who had been reported missing, was being helped into the patrol car when the accident happened. Garda Sharon Casserly was left with life-changing injuries, including spinal damage and two broken legs. Garda Peter Murtagh suffered a broken leg.

On Tuesday, the Court of Appeal heard Nestor had made a conscious decision to drink and drive and had repeated that decision during the evening, drinking at each location he visited. He had 272 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood at the time of the accident. The legal limit is 50mg.

Ms McDonnell paid tribute to the gardaí, who endured ‘horror’ on the night.

‘He [Nestor] was jailed because of his own actions. The crash was an accident but drinking three separate times and driving each time is not. That’s a decision made.

‘I’m just grateful to Gda Casserly and Gda Murtagh, who were out looking for my dad. The horror of what they went through stays with me and I won’t ever get over that. I hope the ruling can provide some closure for them, too.

‘As I said, it’s not about justice being served, or calling for vengeance. What is important is that our laws reflect what society holds acceptable and drink-driving is not and never can be.’

At the Circuit Court, Nestor had admitted dangerous driving causing the death of Mr McDonnell. He also admitted causing serious harm to Gda Casserly.

‘I won’t ever get over that’