Jail escapee caused death of two teens

THE driver of the car in which two Cork city teenagers were killed earlier this year had been an escaped prisoner.

James Simms was on the run from Shelton Abbey Prison having escaped more than six weeks before thefatal Knocknaheeny crash.

The disclosure came at Cork Circuit Criminal Court yesterday where Simms, 28, of no fixed address, was jailed for four years. A second accused, Philip Murphy, 41, of 58 Killala Gardens, Knocknaheeny, Cork, was jailed for six years.

Both, driving the cars involved, had been found guilty on charges of dangerous driving, causing the deaths of CJ Dolan, 16, and Derry O’Callaghan, 19, at Harbour View Road on May 14 last.

Simms had been serving a three-year prison sentence from March 2009 for endangerment and had also been banned from driving for 10 years. He had served one year of that sentence when he escaped on March 31 last.

Sgt Brendan Kelly, who led the garda investigation, confirmed Simms was unlawfully at large from Shelton Abbey at the time that two of the passengers in his Ford Mondeo were killed.

Judge Patrick J Moran said: “This was horrific, appalling, shocking type of driving on this particular night.”

The judge extended the sympathy of the court to the families of the deceased.

He explained that he differentiated on sentences because of the additional aggravating factor that Murphy had driven 2.6 kilometres before the fatal accident with the limited vision afforded by a smashed windscreen. He also took into consideration the mitigating factor in Simms’s case that he had cerebral palsy.

John Dolan, grandfather of CJ Dolan, said afterwards he expected the sentences to be longer than four years and six years. The maximum on the charge is 10 years. “At least they are gone down, we are going home,” he said.

His wife, Philomena Dolan, the boy’s grandmother, added: “Six years for two boys’ lives, they’ll be out in a couple of years.”

Both Murphy and Simms had extensive previous convictions, including many for serious offences under the Road Traffic Act.

Murphy had 76 criminal convictions, including four for dangerous driving, four for drink driving and five for driving stolen cars.

Simms had 99 previous convictions — his most serious driving convictionbeing for endangerment. Paul Green, senior counsel for Simms, described him as “a patsy” for one of the families involved in a feud that formed the background to this fatal incident. Sgt Kelly described Simms as “an associate” of the family.

Mr Greene and Pádraig Dwyer SC, for Murphy, both said their clients were not behind the feud but had been brought into it by third parties on the night in question. Both lawyers said their clients were truly apologetic and remorseful.

The background to the case was a row between young women which resulted in a feud between two families. Last week the judge told the jury they were not to concern themselves with any of this evidence given when the trial opened on November 23 and should only deal with the evidence related to the driving of the Mondeo by Simms and the Golf by Murphy in the minutes before the fatal crash.

To the extent that Simms was acting out of belief that a youth had been abducted, Mr Greene SC said he was acting as a rescuer.

Judge Moran challenged that description.

He disqualified Simms from driving for 12 years and disqualified Murphy from driving for life.

Victim impact statements

‘I love him and miss him and will until the day I die’

THE mothers of the two teenagers killed in Knocknaheeny yesterday described their absolute heartbreak at the loss of their sons.

“It is going to be a lonely and hard Christmas,” said Noreen Dolan while Bernice O’Callaghan said of her son Derry, “I love him and miss him and will until the day I die”.

Bernice had her victim impact statement read to the circuit criminal court by her daughter Cathy.

“Derry was 19 when he died. He had a learning difficulty. He needed a lot of my time. He had one brother and one sister, he was my youngest, my baby.

“Because of his learning difficulties, I spent a lot of time with him. He made me laugh every day, his innocent approach.

“Since he died my house is empty. He was my son, my friend, he would sit with me, he would talk about everything.

“Every day I miss him and the things he did. I still talk to him and think he is still in the house. I love him and miss him and will until the day I die,” Bernice’s statement added.

Noreen Dolan, mother of the late Cornelius John Dolan, read her own victim impact statement.

“I am writing this on behalf of my 16-year-old son, CJ. I lived in Hollywood estate for three years. I was very, very, happy. I have since moved house. I cannot face the scene of the incident. Words cannot express the way I feel. There is a terrible void in my life.

“He was my prince, my friend, my son. He was a role model for his sister and brother. They are crying endlessly every night waiting for their brother to come home with a big smile on his face.

“He wanted to learn a trade in carpentry. He was a lovable rogue with his cheeky smile. CJ you are in heaven now, good, kind-hearted child who loved animals.

“The memory of my baby in that car will live with me forever. It is going to be a lonely and hard Christmas. My heart is broken in pieces that can never be mended. All I can see is his little face in front of me in the car. The pain of losing a child is indescribable.

“I love him so much. It is unbelievable to think what these men before this court have caused. All I want is justice for my 16-year-old child,” Noreen Dolan said.

CJ Dolan’s grandfather, John Dolan, also gave victim impact evidence.

“On the night of the crash it was so localised my son and daughter and grandson were on the scene within a few minutes. God knows what damage that is going to do to them for the rest of their lives.

“Noreen is not well. We have not just lost a grandson, we have lost a daughter. If we ever get her back it will not be entirely. It will be a fraction of the person she was.”