Babies died after car ‘ploughed’ into their buggy

A 41-year-old man with a lifelong history of epilepsy has been sentenced to seven years in prison, with the final three years suspended, for causing the deaths of two baby sisters near Tuam two years ago.

Two-year-old Kate Gilmore and her 12-week-old sister Grace were out for a stroll with their father John, and were both asleep at 12.35pm when their twin buggy was hit head-on by a Toyota Avensis car which had veered into the hard shoulder on the N17, near Tuam, on Sunday, October 21, 2012.

John O’Connor, with an address at 5 Waterslade Downs, Tuam, Co Galway, pleaded guilty at Galway Circuit Criminal to a single charge of dangerous driving at the Demesne, Tuam, on October 21, 2012, which caused the deaths of Kate and Grace Gilmore.