No jail for man who accidentally killed friend on Cork ferry

A Polish man has escaped jail after admitting to driving his car off a cross-river ferry in Cork, killing his friend.

The court heard the man's foot accidentally hit the accelerator rather than the brake pedal on board the vessel in March 2009.

Thirty-eight-year-old Sebastian Loniewski had pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Krystian Mielnik, who drowned after the Volkswagon Polo driven by the accused went into Cork harbour on March 8, 2009.

The men had been returning from a soccer match and boarded the cross river ferry, parking near the safety barrier.

Counsel for the accused said Loniewski must have innocently pressed the accelerator rather than the brake, when he felt the car was moving.

He had no alcohol or drugs in his system.

The accused was pulled from the water, but Mister Mielnik's body was never recovered.

Judge Moran said it was a tragic case. He imposed a five-year suspended prison sentence and disqualified the accused from driving for four years.