Driver of stolen car charged with manslaughter

THE driver of a stolen car which crashed into a motorway embankment has been charged with the manslaughter of a teenage friend who died following the accident.

Mark McKenna, aged 23, of 16 Glenaan Road, Whitehall, Dublin is accused of the unlawful killing of Darragh Carroll, aged 16, from Carrickmines, Co Dublin who suffered fatal injuries in the late night smash on the northbound carriageway of the M50 at Edmonstown near Carrickmines on January 18 last.

He was also charged with dangerous driving causing death, three counts of dangerous driving on different stretches of road around the area on the same night, and with driving without a licence or insurance.

Dun Laoghaire District Court heard that he was charged yesterday morning while attending the court to face two separate charges of the unauthorised taking of vehicles.

Judge Clare Leonard turned down a request for bail for the accused, saying she had no authority to do so given the seriousness of the charges he faced. She remanded him in custody to Cloverhill Prison for one week.

Darragh Carroll suffered serious head injuries in the crash which happened shortly before 2am when the stolen Mitsubishi Lancer he was travelling in overturned at speed before colliding with the embankment. He was cut free from the vehicle and taken to Beaumont Hospital but died a day later.

Two other passengers who were uninjured in the crash were also charged in relation to the incident yesterday. Mark McKenna’s heavily pregnant girlfriend, Leah Larkin, 19, and another friend, Carolyn Power, 18, both of 3 Benburb Street, Dublin, were both charged with allowing themselves to be carried in a stolen vehicle.

Judge Leonard remanded both girls to on bail to appear in court again in a fortnight for service of the book of evidence.