A young driver who knocked down and killed a nine-year-old boy in Co Donegal after reaching speeds of up to 111km/h has been jailed for five years and banned from driving for 20 years.
Sergee Kelly (24) struck Ronan Wilson with such force that he propelled him 58 metres down the road from the point of impact in the seaside town of Bundoran on September 23rd, 2023.
Kelly, of Upper Mullaghmore, Co Sligo, fled the scene in his silver Skoda Octavia car but the incident at Atlantic Way had been captured on CCTV and he was arrested the following day.
Passing sentence at Donegal Circuit Court, Judge John Aylmer said the “horrific” speed being undertaken by Kelly left him with no chance of being able to avoid a child stepping out on to the road.
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He added that if the accused had been travelling within the speed limit, he may have had more time to react and Ronan Wilson could have escaped without significant injury.
He placed the case at the upper end of the scale for such offences and said there were a number of aggravating factors in the case including the speed, leaving the scene ,and then going on a binge of drink and drugs. He had also previously been charged with careless driving after being found driving at 160km/h.
The judge placed the starting point for sentencing at eight years in prison, considering the matter “very much at the upper end of such offending”, and a case that had a “very high degree of culpability”.
The charges of failing to offer assistance and failing to stophad the same level of culpability, removing the potential for life-saving if it were there, the judge added.
Kelly came before the court on a signed plea, entitling him to a reduction of his sentence by one third. Judge Aylmer said he accepted that Kelly was now remorseful and he had “no doubt” the accused would feel remorseful for the rest of his life.
He reduced the sentences for dangerous driving causing death, failing to stop and failing to offer assistance to five years in prison with the sentences to run concurrently. A charge of failing to keep the vehicle at the scene was marked as taken into consideration.
Members of Ronan Wilson’s family were in court for the sentencing including his mother Emma and father Dean after travelling to Donegal from their home in Kildress, Co Tyrone.
Speaking outside court, Ronan’s uncle, Stephen McAuley, said the family were “devastated” by the sentence given.
“No sentence can ever bring Ronan back, but five years for the life of our boy is truly pathetic.
“Sergee Kelly mowed down our wee boy and with that he drove a knife though our hearts. He then fled the scene, a remorseless coward. He then parties the night away while our child lay dying in the street. In doing this he turned the knife and our family has been in agony ever since.
“The sentence handed out today doesn’t ease our pain in any way and we believe this sends the wrong message to other young people who drive vehicles in a reckless way. It is a blight suffered by communities up and down the country and particularly in Donegal.
“Our family need time to come to terms with the loss of Ronan. He was a force of nature, we will miss him beyond measure and he leaves a void which can never be filled.”
