Former garda jailed for drink-driving death

A retired member of the Garda Special Branch has been jailed for five years and disqualified from driving for 15 years for drunk driving causing death and serious injury.

Frank Hayes, aged 53, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to dangerous driving causing the death of Mr Gordon Geary, aged 71, and causing serious bodily harm to his wife, Mrs Joy Geary, at Enniskerry Road, Stepaside on July 24, 2004.

Hayes, of Glengara Park, Dun Laoghaire also pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm at Blackglen Road to Ms Natalie Woods and Ms Edel Halligan, to failing to stop at the scene there, and to driving while drunk.

The charges related to two accidents which happened within minutes of each other. The Gearys had been married 40 years.

Judge Desmond Hogan sentenced Hayes to five years for dangerous driving causing the death of Mr Geary and a further three years to run concurrently for dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm to Mrs Geary, Ms Woods and Edel Halligan.

Judge Hogan said he was "mindful that no sentence that the court could impose would undo the tragedy and the harm that has been caused".

Ms Woods, who was 17 at the time, had part of her skull and brain removed by surgeons at Beaumount Hospital because of swelling within her brain.

She told Judge Hogan on December 7 last she now felt like she has "two different faces and is two different people", and felt "raw inside like a chewed bone". She said she still suffered from depression, headaches, stress confusion, short term memory loss and her facial expressions have been affected.

Ms Woods said that after she came out of a coma, she had to relearn all the basic daily skills but also suffered from psychological trauma. "It is an uphill struggle to keep my spirits up everyday".

Ms Aileen Donnelly SC (with Mr Breffni Gordon BL) defending, said Hayes wished to offer an unreserved and public apology for his behaviour and the consequences of that behaviour, although he accepted that this couldn’t alter what happened.

Detective Sergeant Sean Campbell told Ms Una Ni Raifeartaigh BL, prosecuting, that Ms Woods and Ms Halligan, who was 19 years old at the time, were standing at a point on the Blackglen Road where there were no footpaths and the road narrowed when the Mercedes driven by Hayes collided with them, throwing both into the air.

Witnesses heard a loud bang and turned to see the girls still in the air before they saw Hayes drive away. Mr David Kilroy along with his friend, Mr David Hunt, who were driving in the opposite direction turned and followed Hayes to the junction of Blackglen Road and Enniskerry road.

Det Sgt Campbell said both cars were stopped at a red light when Mr Hunt got out to examine Hayes’s registration plate and Mr Kilroy shouted to him that he had hit two girls and should go back.

Hayes didn’t respond but broke the red light and on turning right drove at speed towards Stepaside Village. He then lost control of his car, hit a wall and veered across the road straight into the path of the Geary’s oncoming vehicle.

Gardaí were initially more concerned about the welfare of Mrs Geary who had been trapped in the car. Her husband got out of the driver’s seat and was walking around the car enquiring about his wife before he slumped to the ground.

He was taken to St Vincent’s hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival having suffered a heart attack.

Det Sgt Campbell said Mr Geary had a previous heart condition and a subsequent post-mortem concluded that on impact with Hayes’s car he suffered chest trauma and trauma to his ribs which were a significant cause in him having a heart attack at the scene.

Ms Halligan suffered serious but not life-threatening head, shoulder, face and leg injuries. She was later treated for bleeding in her brain.

Det Sgt Campbell said Mrs Geary had two broken legs, a broken hip and a broken arm. She was in hospital until November that year and had to be taken to her husband’s funeral on a stretcher. She was now living with her eldest son whose wife had to leave work to care for her.

Admitted to owning and driving the car on the night but had no other. When gardaí later read out the charges to him he replied, "I am very very sorry".

Det Sgt Campbell said Hayes who had no recollection of the accident, admitted having drank wine at dinner in Stackstown Golf Club where he had played in a golf tournament. His alcohol intake was later found to be more than the twice the legal limit, at 84 mg of alcohol for 100 ml of breath.

Hayes had one previous conviction in September 1986 and received a £40 fine for failing to stop at an accident and having a defective brake light.

Hayes had been working as a taxi driver at the time having retired after 30 years as a garda. The majority of his career was spent as a member of the Special Detective Unit.