Hit-and-run trial jury views CCTV footage

A jury in a fatal hit-and- run trial was yesterday shown more than three hours of CCTV footage tracking a large, grey, vehicle suspected of being involved in the incident.

Images also showed people socialising in late- night bars in Killarney, Co Kerry, on June 30/July 1, 2012.

Cyclist and father of four, Paud O’Leary, from Gneeveguilla, Co Kerry, died in the accident, believed to have occurred at around 5.15am, on July 1.

His body had been recovered from a ditch eight hours later, but the vehicle suspected of being involved had not been found.

Shane Fitzgerald, aged 23, of Upper Knockeen, Knockduff, Meelin, Newmarket, Co Cork, has pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of Mr O’Leary, at Scrahanfadda, Gneeveguilla, Co Kerry, on that date.

The prosecution case, at the Circuit Criminal Court, in Tralee, is the accused was the registered owner of a grey Toyota Land Cruiser suspected of colliding with Mr O’Leary.

Sgt David Leslie, Tralee, who had already shown CCTV clips of a vehicle passing the High Street bar and SuperValu supermarket, in Newmarket, on the night of June 30, showed additional footage to the jury which had also seen footage stills.

Sgt Leslie said he had been working for six months, on and off, compiling footage collected during the investigation.

There were 106 exhibits from 80 locations, reduced to 38 relevant clips from 31 separate locations, running for a total of three and a quarter hours.

The silent footage, in both colour and monochrome, was shown without commentary.

Most of the clips were under a minute long, while a clip from Scruffy’s Bar in Killarney, showing large numbers of people drinking and dancing, lasted 40 minutes and a clip from the residents’ bar, in the Eviston House Hotel, also Killarney, for almost two hours.

The first clip from Killarney showed a large grey vehicle being parked at the railway station car park, at around 11.30pm, on June 30, and a tall man in a white shirt walking away from the vehicle.

Other clips from around midnight featured McSorley’s Night Club, Burger King, Scruffy’s Bar, all in College St, Killarney, and outside Mike’s Takeaway and the Tatler Jack Bar, both in Plunket St, at about 1am.

Images from shortly after 1am showed the outside of the Danny Mann Bar and people drinking in the residents’ bar of the Eviston House Hotel, between 2.28am and 4.24am. The Danny Mann Bar is located in the hotel.

A man in a white shirt was shown drinking and with his head on the counter — apparently asleep — in the residents’ lounge, and with his arm around another man on another occasion.

A man in a white shirt was also seen leaving the hotel through the reception area shortly before 4.30am, and on CCTV, as he walked past several town centre business premises before entering a grey vehicle in the railway station car park, just before 5am.

After a few minutes, the vehicle reversed out of its parking space and drove to a junction at the Franciscan friary before turning right and heading towards Gneeveguilla.

CCTV showed it passing several premises before coming to O’Keeffe’s shop, 1km from the accident scene at 5.11am.

The vehicle was captured continued onwards, passing the Munster Joinery factory in Ballydesmond, Co Cork, at 5.18am, and past Jones Agri Ltd, also near Ballydesmond, at 5.23am.

The trial resumes on Wednesday.