Woman lost control of car leading to death of two men

A young driver lost control of her car as it zigzagged on a country road and crashed into a wall after passing another car with the result that two young men travelling with her were killed, it was claimed today by eyewitnesses in her trial by judge and jury.

Theresa Dingivan, of Pearse Square in Fermoy, pleaded not guilty to a charge of dangerous driving at Strawhall, Fermoy, County Cork, in August 2007 causing the deaths of 19-year-old James Sexton and 22-year-old Michael Murphy.

Dingivan, aged 21, was the driver of a Honda Civic car in which the deceased were passengers at 9pm on Sunday night, August 5, 2007.

Judge Patrick J Moran and the jury of seven men and five women were told that alcohol was not a factor in the accident. Dingivan was blood-tested afterwards and there was a zero reading for alcohol.

Defence senior counsel, James O’Mahony, put it to one eye witness, Catriona Drishane, that the defendant’s car was not travelling fast and she agreed.

Witness Richard Cotter was driving on the country road between Midleton and Fermoy in his Toyota Corolla at a speed of 35-40 miles per hour when it was overtaken by a Honda Civic driven by the defendant.

Mr Cotter described what happened after it passed him: “The car went out of control, it zigzagged along the middle of the road and eventually crashed into a wall, the wall on the right hand side of the road, the boundary wall of a house. It eventually finished up on the left hand side of the road.”

Mr O’Mahony SC referred to the witness’s statement to the gardaí in which he stated that the car in front was in a tizzy. Mr Cotter said: “By that I meant it was going in a zigzagging motion. Obviously she was trying to get it on to the correct side of the road.”

Catriona Drishlane was driving further behind and she also described seeing the Civic overtaking the Corolla. She said that after the Civic struck the wall it went out of view for a few seconds in a cloud of dust and debris and re-appeared on the left side of the road.