Dutch driver denied bail after fatal road crash

A Dutch national charged with dangerous driving causing the death of a woman last week has been refused bail.

Frans Coenraad, aged 44, of Meeuwenstraat, Goor, the Netherlands, told gardaí “it was an accident” that led to the death of schoolteacher and bride-to-be Alice Strain last Thursday.

The driver was only in Ireland one day when the crash occurred.

Ms Strain, aged 45, from Ballymacmague, Dungarvan, Co Waterford, was a passenger in her fiancé’s car when it collided with a van.

The driver, photographer Pat Crowley, was seriously injured but is continuing to recover. The couple were returning from a night at the theatre when the crash occurred.

At Waterford District Court yesterday, solicitor Eoin Dee said that while he did not wish to “lessen the severity” of the seriousness of the charge, the situation was also very traumatic for his client.

He said Mr Coenraad found himself “far away from home in jail”.

Friends and family of Mr Coenraad were in court yesterday.

Mr Dee said a further two nights in jail could have “an enormous psychological impact” on his client.

Det Sgt Shay Keevans, of Tramore Garda Station, said he had made international queries about the defendant’s background and expected details tomorrow.

Mr Coenraad is due to appear in court again tomorrow when the matter of bail could be “revisited”, the judge said.