A 52-year-old man who admitted driving into a woman who was crossing the road in Ballina had his careless driving case dismissed at Ballina District Court.
Bernadette and Priscilla Conroy told the court that on February 7 2012 after 11am as they were on their way from the dole office to Tesco they crossed the road at Circular Road, Ballina. According to Bernadette, her daughter Priscilla was hit by the wing of a car driven by John Keaveney, 82 Childers Heights, Ballina. “I went up on the bonnet,” said Bernadette Conroy. She said that Keaveney got out of the car and said “ye stupid f*****g bitches, look what ye made me do.” Bernadette Conroy said that the defendant was roaring into their faces and said that he was not waiting for the gardaí, he said “f**k the guards” and took off from the scene.
Priscilla Conroy told the court that she was “fired on the ground” and saw her mother being hit by the car. She said that Keaveney shouted at them that he is on “disability and ye will pay for a new car”. She said that she shouted at him as she saw her mother on the ground but he shouted in their face that “ye’ll be sorry for this”. Priscilla Conroy told him that she was calling the gardaí and tried to get his number plate, but he tried to block it, and then drove off.
Shannon Helly told the court that she was driving to work when she saw Priscilla Conroy being “clipped” by the car and saw Bernadette Conroy being hit right in the middle by the car. Ms Helly stopped and asked if they were OK and heard the defendant roar “ye ungrateful pricks....look what ye made me do.” She said that he shouted about a disc on his car and heard Priscilla Conroy ask about his registration number and then saw him drive off.
An ambulance called by the Conroys attended the scene and brought both women to Mayo General Hospital.
Garda Charles Elliott received a call at 11.40am about the incident, however as he was about to attend the scene Keaveney called into the Garda station to report the accident. In a statement given by the defendant he said that as he was driving his automatic car he was driving “at a walking pace” around the roundabout when two women were suddenly in front of the car. He said that as he slammed on the brakes “the young girl skipped out of the way and the older woman got hit.” He said that Priscilla Conroy came to his window and cursed at him saying that he hit her mother. Keaveney said that he got out of the car and asked Bernadette if she was OK but Priscilla was roaring at him that they would make him pay. As he was blocking traffic he said that he moved the car and then got out again to them, but the daughter would not calm down. “I called her a rude bitch and told her to “f**k off”.
Garda Elliott said that he viewed CCTV which showed the car drive slowly around the roundabout and then the car’s brake lights came on as he went off the roundabout. There were no skid marks at the scene and the garda said that there was a slight dent on the bonnet of the car. The garda said this was a busy junction and he would consider it highly dangerous to cross there.
Keaveney told the court that he did not hit Priscilla but admitted hitting Bernadette, but said that she was not on the bonnet. He said that Priscilla said to him that he was “fucking flying” and “you are going to pay dearly for this.” He denied saying anything about the women being pricks. He said that he offered to call an ambulance but he felt “intimidated” by a small crowd which had gathered and so went straight to the Garda station.
Judge Mary Devins said that she did not believe that the defendant was driving at any speed as it is a tight roundabout and it is impossible to drive around that roundabout fast. Judge Devins said that the women “were careless” as they “simply were not looking even though they were crossing at one of the most dangerous roads in Ballina.” The judge said that the women “stepped out” in front of Keaveney and “in some situations it is impossible to stop a car on time.” The case was dismissed.
