‘We waved goodbye; little did we think it

A RELATIVE told Wexford Circuit Court that the hit-and-run car accident which claimed one life and left a second person with serious injuries had changed her family’s life forever.

Caroline Donohoe told the court that from the age of two, she had lived with ‘Jim and Bernie’ – her paternal aunt and her partner – following the tragic loss of her mother.

‘We continued to live “in loco parentis” until I left home as an adult; even then only moving 15 minutes away.’

In a Victim Impact Statement to the court, she said that before the accident in January 2015, ‘life for the Donohoe family was normal. We had a busy household with three children and work to focus on. Then suddenly, that dreaded situation where you find yourself face to face with two solemn gardaí on your front doorstep telling you to get to Wexford General Hospital as soon as possible.

‘You know then your life has changed and, five years later, it seems to have changed forever. That

Monday evening, we sat in our kitchen, cups of tea in hand and the conversation flowing about GAA and horse racing, two of Jim’s favourite subjects. Kids were playing and our baby, who exactly seven months previously was born in intensive care in Dublin, was smiling and happy and all seemed well with the world.

‘Then it was time for Jim and Bernie to go home as they were planning to travel to bingo later. So out comes the wallet from the back pocket, three €5 notes left for the McDonald’s trip at the weekend. Thanks Gaga.’

Her son Tom, then two-years-and-four-months old, had a quick ‘drive’ of Gaga’s car before it really was time to go.

‘We waved goodbye; little did we think it would be the last time.’

Following the accident, Ms Donohoe said she had adopted ‘a Jekyll & Hyde character’ to a point.

‘One minute, I’m smiling and happy; the next, the polar opposite. That took its toll on my family.

My three children, who were only eight years, two years and seven months at the time of the accident, struggled to understand why this was happening, and my husband – the fact we are still married is nothing short of a miracle.

‘I struggled with the fact that I had to deal with the gardaí to help answer queries pertaining to their investigation, funeral arrangements, queries from the State Pathologist, hospital, family, life. I struggled with the nightmares where I felt like I was travelling in the car and could feel the impact and see Jim’s body being thrown violently forward and backward. I struggled with the vision of him in the morgue at Wexford General Hospital in the red coat gifted to him by the kids. I just struggled...

‘Since then, we have endured the wait for our time in court to let people know that when something like this happens, it literally rips your world apart into a million pieces and, no matter how hard you try to piece it back, it will never be 100 per cent like before; for you will