Woman jailed for drink-driving crash

A woman who lost control of her car when drink-driving, seriously injuring her friend, was jailed for six months yesterday.

On October 31, 2013, Catriona Cronin, of 7 Killeens Place, Farranree, Cork, pleaded guilty to drink-driving and careless driving causing serious harm to Grace Murray.

The accident happened at at Old Commons Road at 2am on May 25, 2013.

Driving home from a night out, Cronin’s Renault Megane hit a wall after spinning out of control coming down a steep hill. While Cronin escaped serious injury, Ms Murray, who was a back seat passenger, sustained serious brain injuries.

Sergeant Anthony Harrington told the court that when officers arrived at the scene, they found Cronin crouched outside the back passenger door of the car, cradling Ms Murray in her arms. Cronin thought that her friend was dead. However, Ms Murray survived after 10 weeks in hospital.

Ms Murray described the impact of her serious head injury in a victim impact statement read to Cork Circuit Criminal Court by Sergeant Harrington.

“My life has been destroyed,” she said. “I do my walking, I spend the rest of the day looking out the window. I feel embarrassed about the way I walk. I feel I have turned from an adult to a child and my daughter has turned into my mother.

“I am suffering post-traumatic stress. Sometimes I wish I was not here — why did I not die when the accident happened? I don’t drive now. I don’t cook. I find I forget what I am doing. I have a scar on the left side of my face.”

Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin said: “This is a very bad case. It has combination of bad driving and drink. It does merit, unfortunately, a prison sentence.

“In this case, there was genuine remorse from the get-go. This could have been a difficult case to prove. Her admissions were important and were of material assistance to the prosecution.

“The victim, Grace Murray, is devastated and has significant ongoing problems. It is a grim picture that is presented to the court.”

Judge Ó Donnabháin sentenced Cronin to a year in jail and suspended six months of the term. He also imposed a €1,000 fine.