A diabetic man accused of causing a fatal car crash on the M50 four years ago has been acquitted following a trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Gerry Daly (57), of Derby Lodge, Brownstown, The Curragh, Kildare, had pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of Jacqueline Griffin (39) at junction five of the M50 on January 24th, 2019.
The court heard Ms Griffin died of catastrophic injuries after her car was forced into crash barriers. She was killed instantly.
After deliberating for six hours and 50 minutes, the jury returned a not guilty verdict on Friday.
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Judge Elma Sheahan thanked the jury for the diligence they had shown throughout the trial. She said this was a “difficult case” particularly for Ms Griffin’s family, who had to listen to “harrowing evidence”.
She commended them for the dignity they had shown throughout the process and acknowledged their sadness.
There were cries of shock and upset in the courtroom as the verdict was read out.
Opening the case, Garnet Orange, prosecuting, had said it was the State’s case that Mr Daly’s driving along this stretch of the M50 involved driving at speed and weaving in and out of traffic.
He said Mr Daly was driving on the left-hand lane heading north towards Ashbourne when “at the very last moment he veered across, very narrowly avoiding a collision with a truck”.
“He got in front of the truck and collided with the car being driven by Ms Griffin” he said.
He described it as a “ferocious collision” which caused Ms Griffin’s vehicle to roll over.
Counsel said Ms Griffin was “doing nothing other than being compliant” with the rules of the road.
The jury was shown CCTV footage from various cameras on the M50 and footage recorded from cameras on a recycling truck that was on the M50 on the day.
Dr Kevin Moore, consultant endocrinologist, told the jury it was his view Mr Daly did not make a “conscious decision” to get into the car and drive that day. He said he has been supervising Mr Daly for “over 10 years”, who he said had type-one diabetes.
Dr Moore was taken through a graph of Mr Daly’s blood sugar readings on the day of the crash. He expressed the view these were consistent with Mr Daly having gone into a lower level of glucose which can “impair cognitive function” and it was his view Mr Daly was in a severe hypoglycaemic state.
He said the defendant would have been “confused” and “disorientated” which reflected a “severe cognitive impairment” because there was “not enough glucose” in the brain.
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He said it was his opinion Mr Daly’s judgment was impaired and he “didn’t make a conscious decision to get into the car and drive”.
When asked about Mr Daly’s driving, the crash and its aftermath, Dr Moore said: “It is my opinion that his brain was barely able to function at that point and had been struggling for the duration of the car journey.
“In reality, he was on the edge of going unconscious or having a seizure.”
He said Mr Daly would have been able to function on “autopilot” and able to carry out basic functions such as driving or walking “just about – badly, erratically and unsafely”.
Roderick O’Hanlon, defending, said in his closing speech that Mr Daly was not in a position to control the decision to drive at the time of the “appalling and tragic crash”.
He said Mr Daly’s brain function and cognitive ability were diminished due to his extremely low blood sugar levels at the time of the crash.
He added the defenant was “unaware where he was or exactly what had happened”.