A mother-of-two who mowed down a garda, severing his foot and leaving him for dead in a ditch, has been jailed for five years .
Niamh McDonnell, (30), Gortskagh, Castlemahon, Co Limerick, wept as judge Tom O’Donnell also banned her from driving for ten years at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court on Friday.
The defendant, who the court heard has two young children, was “drunk and had drugs in her system” when she got behind the wheel of her mother-in-law’s car on June 30, 2022.
The court was told she ploughed into Garda Inspector Niall Flood from behind, knocking him off his 22-speed Giant carbon frame racing bike, onto the bonnet of her car, smashing the windscreen.
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Mr Flood (53), who was off-duty at the time, was then catapulted into a ditch, landing face up in a foot of dykewater.
The court heard his right foot was ripped off in the impact and was later found wedged into the front headlamp of the car at Ms McDonnell’s home.
He was critically injured and a passing motorist tied a tourniquet around his damaged limb. He was airlifted to Cork University Hospital where he had to be resuscitated. Efforts to reattach his foot were unsuccessful.
McDonnell, who did not stop at the scene, told gardaí she “panicked” when she knew she had struck a person.
“I kept going, I didn’t stop,” McDonnell told gardaí after her arrest.
She admitted dangerous driving, causing serious bodily harm to Mr Flood, drunk driving, drug driving, failing to stop at the scene, and failing to help Mr Flood at the scene.
Judge O’Donnell said it was a “horrific incident” which left Mr Flood with “catastrophic life-changing injuries”.
Mr Flood was not able to attend the sentencing hearing due to ongoing issues with his injuries which have left him “prone to lung inflections”, the judge said.
In his victim impact settlement, which was read to the court on his behalf, he said McDonnell’s decision to drive while high on drink and cannabis was “unforgivable and incomprehensible”.
“I was struck from the rear by a drunk and drug driver who left me for dead and bleeding out,” he said.
His wife, Margaret Flood, told the court she and her husband were “psychologically and physically traumatised”.
“She [McDonnell] drove off and left him for dead, that is the cruel nature of the defendant . . . you would stop if you hit a dog,” she said.
Judge O’Donnell said McDonnell was “two and half times over the limit” after driving on a cocktail of “cannabis, five vodka and Red Bulls, and five other shots of alcohol”.
“She went to the pub instead of going home . . . she declined a lift because she said the car was needed at her home,” the judge said.
It was a “horrific incident” and the nature of Mr Flood’s injuries have been “deeply disturbing” for him and his family, the judge added.
McDonnell’s decision to “put herself behind the wheel of a car, while intoxicated” had “shattered” Niall and Margaret Flood’s lives, he said.
Her failing to stop to render assistance to Mr Flood had led to “enormous tragic consequences which would have a long-term impact on Niall Flood and his family”, he added.
He noted the defendant had expressed “genuine remorse”, was without any previous convictions and had experienced a “difficult childhood and family background which resulted in mental health issues”.
He said the probation services found she was of “low-risk” of reoffending.
He sentenced her to seven years in jail with the final two years suspended.