Drunk driver was going at 120kmh when he hit walker
A DRUNK motorist was driving at 120kmh in a built-up area when he hit GAA coach Eugene McNamara on a footpath at a roundabout.
Slovakian national Rene Miko, of Place de Plouzane, Kilrush, Co Clare, was three times over the limit when his Black BMW hit Mr McNamara from behind at 10.05pm on October 26, 2016.
Mr McNamara (42) was walking on the footpath on his way home after watching a soccer match on TV at his brother’s house. He died a number of days later from his injuries.
Chilling CCTV footage shown at Ennis Circuit Court yesterday captured the high speed of Miko’s BMW on the dark night and Mr McNamara walking along the footpath opposite McDonald’s in Ennis before the fatal impact. The speed limit was 50kmh. The footage showed off duty Garda Michael O’Connor of
Roxboro Road station, Limerick, doing a U-turn on the Gort Road leading into the roundabout to pursue the Miko car after he saw the speed.
In a statement, he said that before Miko’s car struck Mr McNamara, it first hit another car putting the other car airborne.
Judge Gerald Keys told Miko he was facing imprisonment for causing Mr McNamara’s death but has allowed him to remain on bail pending his sentencing on March 25.
In a victim impact statement on behalf of the family, double All-Ireland hurling winner and brother of Eugene, Stephen McNamara, said the 42-yearold “was left to suffer alone on the side of the road”.
He added that the “nightmare” caused from that night is constantly with the McNamara family “and the circumstances around Eugene’s death are always on our minds”.