Pal sent flying off bonnet as driver braked suddenly

‘SERIOUS BRAIN INJURY’ BUT THEY’RE STILL FRIENDS 3RD MAN ON ROOF AS CAR SPED ROUND VILLAGE

A DRIVER who sped around a village with a man on the roof of his car and another on the bonnet has appeared in court.

Letterkenny Circuit Court in Co Donegal heard that one of the men was left with a serious brain injury after the driver slammed on the brakes.

Adam McCarron pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm and also two counts of endangerment.

The court heard that one of the accused man’s best friends, Stephen Kelly, almost died as a result of the incident.

Mr Kelly, who suffered a serious brain injury, spent 10 weeks at the National Rehabilitation Centre in Dublin after McCarron braked suddenly, sending the victim crashing to the ground.

Mr Kelly’s head injuries were so severe that a medical report said there was “a risk to life due to high intracranial pressure.”

The court heard that McCarron had not been drinking on the night of the shocking incident at Main Street,

Clonmany, on September 13, 2021.

CCTV footage played in court showed both Mr Kelly and Declan McLaughlin coming out of a local pub at Inishowen.

Mr Kelly spread himself onto the bonnet of the car and Mr McLaughlin spread himself “star shape” on the roof of the black Vauxhall Astra car before McCarron drove off.

Video footage was also shown from behind the car which was taken by a person in another car showing the terrifying moment that Mr Kelly flies off the bonnet of the car and then lies motionless in the road.

Mr Kelly told the court that neither he nor Mr McLaughlin hold the accused responsible for what happened, that they did not want to see him go to prison and that all three remain best friends.

Harm

However, after the accident McCarron had been found guilty of dangerous driving and drink-driving after another incident in February 2023 and was disqualified for three years.

Judge John Aylmer said it was this aspect of the case that was worrying him. He said that he would have considered dealing with the case by way of a non-custodial sentence but that this aspect of the case was leading him to reconsider this.

He said he would like counsel to discover if there is any mitigation for McCarron’s subsequent conviction for dangerous and drink-driving and for him to be able to explore this.

The judge said: “There are too many cases of dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm and death that come before the courts in this county.

“I don’t want to send out the message to the youth of Donegal that I don’t take this type of activity seriously. I am concerned about dealing with it in a non-custodial way on that basis.”

McCarron, of Magherard, Carndonagh, took to the witness stand and told the court that what he did was not only careless but also dangerous and stupid and admitted that he was “showing off.”

Judge Aylmer adjourned the case until June 11.