Gardai this morning arrested a 70-year-old man on suspicion of assisting an offender in relation to a fatal hit-and-run collision in 2012. The collision resulted in the killing of Paud O’Leary, a local man in his 40s who was cycling his bicycle.
The incident happened between 8am and 10am on Sunday July 1, 2012 in the townland of Scrahanfadda, Gneeveguilla, Co Kerry. Gardai state that investigations are continuing. The victim was training for the Ring of Kerry cycle.
The arrested man was detained this morning at Bandon Garda Station under the provisions of Section 4- Criminal Justice Act 1984. The arrest relates to a suspicion of assisting an offender, the driver in the case has already been found guilty.
The driver of the car, 23-year-old Shane Fitzgerald of Upper Knockeen, Knockduff, Meelin, Co Cork, was found guilty in April and jailed for five years for dangerous driving causing the death of Paud O’Leary. Fitzgerald fled the country hours after the collision and was extradited for prosecution.
The Irish Mirror reported that Fitzgerald had been “drinking in a hotel residents’ bar until 4.30am before he killed a cyclist in a hit-and-run incident.”
EDITED: The headline originally stated “Driver arrested in connection to 2012 fatal hit-and-run involving bicycle”, this has been changed to “Man arrested…”. This was an error on our behalf.
I doubt that the sentence will amount to much if it comes to trial judging by how such cases are tried in courts here.
Just yesterday the Irish Daily Mail reported (p. 10) on a fatal collision involving a cyclist being impacted by a taxi in Dungarvan.
Judge Greally said that “the accident had been caused by a momentary lapse of attention and care” – that’s by the taxi driver not the cyclist.
Another get-out-of-jail card deployed.
The institutional blindness about how serious are these impacts between a 1.2 tonne metal box and a 75 kg human astounds me. Sentences are far too lenient – that’s assuming the case even comes to trial.
Sadly I agree with Mike [McKillen].