A man who caused the deaths of two teenage girls as he drove at almost twice the speed limit when he was taking them to their debs has been sentenced to seven years in prison.
Anthony McGinn (61) from Drumloo, Newbliss, Co Monaghan, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the deaths of best friends, Kiea McCann (17) and Dlava Mohamed (16).
The mother of Kiea McCann said after the hearing that there was “no justice” for her in the sentence.
The two teenagers died after the car they were travelling in left the road and crashed into a tree in the Legnakeely area on July 31st, 2023.
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‘There is no justice for this’: Driver in car crash that led to deaths of Monaghan teenagers jailed for seven years
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Appearing at Monaghan Courthouse on Wednesday, McGinn was also disqualified from driving for a period of 15 years.
Bereaved family members crowded into the public gallery and held photographs of the girls. Many cried silently.
McGinn, who was a friend of the McCann family and had offered to drive the girls to the event in his white BMW, showed no emotion as he stood in the dock and sentence was passed.
He had also pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm in the case of Dlava’s sister, Avin.
She who was one of two other teenagers in the car at the time and was left with life-changing injuries.
The court heard how he had ignored the “somewhat angry pleas” of two “frightened young passengers” (referring to Avin and another passenger, Oisin Clerkin, who sustained less serious injuries) to “desist” from speeding, as he drove at of 151 km/h on a wet stretch of road in an 80 km/h zone.
One woman wearing a blue t-shirt with Kiea McCann’s face emblazoned on it wept and shook her head in the public gallery on Wednesday as Judge John Aylmer handed down the sentence.
Speaking after the hearing outside the court, Kiea’s mother, Teresa McCann, held up a picture of her and said: “This is my daughter Kiea and this is what we got, seven years today. There is no justice for this. My child’s life is gone and never coming back.”
Addressing McGinn, the judge said he had been entrusted by the McCann family to drive the teenagers to their debs ball and that his actions were an “extraordinary breach of that trust”.
The “devastating impact” of his crimes on the two bereaved families were evidenced by the “harrowing” victim impact statements read aloud at the last court hearing, he added.
In his statement, Mohamed Mohamed, Dlava’s father, said burying his daughter was “a pain I will carry for the rest of my life”. His family left Syria in 2017 to follow their dreams, but now Dlava was “never going to get that chance”.
Dlava’s sister Avin, who survived the crash, said the night in question was supposed to be one of the happiest in her life.
“My sister came with me because I had no one else to go with,” she said, adding that “everything changed” the moment they got into that car.
Kiea’s father, Frankie McCann, described his daughter as a “bright shining star” who always wanted to help others.
The teenager had passed all her Leaving Certificate exams with distinction despite suffering from dyslexia and had aspired to become a social worker. However, he said her life was taken by a driver who “has never shown any remorse”.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Mr Aylmer said he had to consider where the offence fell on the scale of offending by examining aggravating and mitigating circumstances
“It has been pointed out that you never had any intention to injure anyone but your reckless disregard for the potential loss of life and serious injury (are) a serious aggravating factor and place it at the upper end of the scale of gravity (for sentencing),” he said.
A nine-year sentence was imposed, with the final two years suspended in full.
Mitigating factors were outlined to the court, including that there was no alcohol or drugs consumed, risk of reoffending was low and there were no previous convictions.
“Very early” guilty pleas were entered by McGinn, who suffered serious injuries himself in the crash and spent months in a coma.
The judge said he had been asked to consider these injuries but noted they were “self-imposed”.
“You have since lost your marriage and your relationship with your children has become distant … your sense of what you’ve done weighs heavily on you.”
He also noted that McGinn’s guilty plea was in the face of an “overwhelming case” brought by the prosecution, with the entire event captured on dashcam.
While some members of the victims’ families believed McGinn had not expressed any remorse, a probation report noted a “significant expression of remorse”.
The court heard he had not been in a position to directly express that remorse to the families due to the pending criminal investigation.
Following the hearing, Insp Ann Marie Lardner said gardaí support the families “in their suffering”.
“Kiea and Dlava were looking forward to celebrating their Debs on the night of the 31st of July, 2023 – they had their entire lives and bright futures in front of them.
“They were killed in a devastating road traffic collision and never came home.”
Insp Lardner said gardaí stand “united in grief” with the families following the recent death of Garda Kevin Flatley, from the roads policing unit, who was struck by a high-powered motorcycle on Sunday.
