Mother and baby in ‘violent’ crash
A mother of two suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder following a head-on collision in Sligo last year, Sligo District Court has heard.
The collision was caused when the woman went over to the wrong side of the road on a ‘dangerous bend’.
Pauline Meehan of 15, Ummer Rd, Tempo, Co. Fermanagh. appeared in court charged with dangerous driving after the car she was driving was involved in a head-on collision with a BMW X5 at Lugnagall, Glencar, on March 19 th last.
The court was told that the 36-year-old mother of two was driving to the Clayton Hotel on the day and her three-month-old baby was also in the car.
Her husband and other child were driving ahead of them.
The collision occurred with the other vehicle which was carrying three passengers, including an infant, when both cars met on a bad bend and Meehan crossed the white line slightly onto the other side of the road.
Evidence given to the court by gardaí suggested very low and strong sunlight on the day could have been a factor.
Following the collision, Meehan’s car ended up facing back in the direction it was travelling from and the BMW was in a hedge.
From Fermanagh and working in Cavan as an insurance underwriter, the court was told the mother of two had been driving for 15 years without any incident and had no previous convictions.
It was heard that she drives 45 minutes to work each day and she could lose her job if she were to lose her licence.
Since the accident she has suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, is on anti-anxiety medication and anti-depressants and cannot speak about the crash without breaking down.
Judge Kevin Kilrane said Meehan was ‘inexplicably’ on the other side of the road. He noted that the stretch of road was ‘very dangerous’ but that the width of the road was good.
The judge described it as a ‘violent impact’ and said ‘ thankfully nobody was killed’.
He added that Meehan struck him as a ‘decent and careful driver’, before reducing the dangerous driving charge to the lesser charge of careless driving, and fined her €200.
Meanwhile, the court heard that a woman who was 27 weeks pregnant drove through a red light on January 26 th, 2018 on Temple St.
When stopped by gardaí on Wine St, Patricia Gordon of Drumonds, Glencar, Manorhamilton, said she thought she would ‘make it’.
Ms Gordon was sent a Fixed Charge Penalty notice which was not paid, however she told the court she had only received the notice two days after the deadline for payment as it arrived to her mother’s house.
Judge Kevin Kilrane addressed Gordon and said a crash while pregnant could have terrible implications. The judge struck out the matter.