Drunk driver in catastrophic West Cork crash gets sentence reduced

A West Cork man who was four times over the drink-driving limit when he crashed his BMW into a roundabout in Skibbereen, killing a woman and paralysing her friend, has been given a four-year jail term following an appeal.

Sean Casey, 27, of Cooragannive, Skibbereen, had pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of Megan Johnston, 22, and causing serious bodily harm to Kate Petford, 24, who was left paralysed following the crash on April 8, 2013.

He had been sentenced at Cork Circuit Criminal Court to seven years imprisonment and disqualified from driving for 30 years by Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin on February 17 last year.

Casey successfully appealed his sentence in July last, with the Court of Appeal finding the seven-year sentence was “out of line with other decided cases”.

The Court of Appeal imposed a new sentence on him yesterday of five years imprisonment, with the final 12 months suspended. The 30-year driving ban remains in place.

Outside the court yesterday, Ms Petford’s mother Jo said: “I take this opportunity to call for strict sentencing in cases of conviction for drink driving and dangerous driving, to send a clear message that the road traffic laws cannot and should not be disregarded with impunity, so that other families may be spared the devastation caused by death or catastrophic injuries on the road.

“Our daughter’s life and our family’s life has been devastated by the actions of Mr Casey.”

Casey was due to be resentenced in October.

However, it was adjourned on foot of a fresh victim impact report submitted by Ms Petford’s family, who wished to detail their “abhorrence” at the proposed reduction in his sentence.

However, their fresh victim impact report followed a similar move by the parents of the late Ms Johnston, in which they called for “mercy” for Casey, who they believed was “genuinely remorseful”.

Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan yesterday referred to a letter by Simon Petford, which commenced: “I write to detail my opposition and abhorrence to the proposed reduction in the seven-year sentence handed down to Mr Sean Casey in respect of his criminal culpability for drink and dangerous driving... which caused the death of my daughter’s friend Megan Johnston [and] the catastrophic paralysis of my daughter Kate.”

Attached to the letter was a four-day diary which “demonstrates in detail to this court the stark reality of daily life for Kate Petford and also the stark reality of the burden of care that now rests on her family”, said Mr Justice Sheehan.

The letter also stated that Casey’s appeal was “entirely inconsistent” with his expressions of remorse.

The parents of the deceased Ms Johnston furnished a letter to the court which stated: “We feel that Sean Casey has served enough time in prison to make amends for what he did. Keeping him in prison is of no benefit to us and will not bring our daughter Megan back to us.

“We are the parents of a daughter that lost all of the rest of her life on that night, we do not want him to lose anymore of the rest of his young life.”