Penalty for driver in fatal crash ‘a bit light’

An Irish father who lost three of his four children in a car crash in Denmark last summer has described the €1,340 fine handed down to their killer as “somewhat light” given the consequences of his actions.

“The law is what it is and a judge is only allowed to put down what is asked for by the prosecution,” Brian O’Shea told RTÉ’s Miriam O’Callaghan yesterday.

“In this particular situation it was impossible for the prosecutor to prove he was doing a higher speed, which we are pretty sure he was, and all that could be proved was the impact speed,” he said.

“The software that they used came up with a speed of 125kmh as he torpedoed my wife’s car.” During an emotional radio interview, Mr O’Shea recalled how the family returned to Ireland last August to celebrate the lives of their three dead children with family and friends.

The couple have a baby son, Torben, their only child who survived the accident. Their three other children, Soren, 11, Saoirse, 9, and Connor, 3, died last July when a Danish man, Lasse Burholt, who was driving at 125kmh in an 80kmh zone, collided with Maria’s car.

Maria and Brian, who are living in Australia, buried their dead children in Denmark, where Maria is from.

As well as a €1,340 fine, Lasse Burholt received a three-year conditional driving suspension.

Brian and Maria have begun a memorial fund, called 3 Musketeers, that will support projects to improve the lives of disadvantaged and orphaned children in underdeveloped countries.

* www.3musketeers.net.au