Woman's life 'totally empty' since drunk driver killed her fiancée

A drunk Cavan man who drove 7kms in the wrong direction down a dual carriage and killed a man returning from his fiancée’s birthday party has avoided jail.

The judge said he thought alcohol was not the cause of the accident.

Civil engineer, Ronan Cunningham (aged 29) of Enniskeen, Kingscourt pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to dangerous driving causing the death of Emanuel Mendez (aged 23) on October 10, 2010 at Rathcoole, on the N7 Naas dual carriageway

Cunningham also pleaded guilty to driving while under the influence of alcohol on the same date.

Prosecution counsel Melanie Greally BL told Judge Martin Nolan that Cunningham had been attending a darts tournament at the Citywest Hotel in Tallaght on the night of the accident.

Cunningham who had consumed "about eight pints" had booked a room in the hotel and "could offer no reason" why he decided to drive back to Cavan at 1am.

He ended up driving south on the N7 until he came off at the Kill slip road before driving back down onto the dual carriageway in the wrong direction.

The court heard Mr Mendez and his fiancée Latoya Scott were returning from a dinner celebrating Ms Scott's birthday and were travelling in the outer lane in the direction of Naas.

Ms Scott said all she could remember at that point was seeing a flash of light and feeling the impact which sent their car spinning out of control.

Miss Scott managed to free herself but Mr Mendes, who was revived momentarily at the scene, was trapped and had to be cut from the wreckage.

He was taken to hospital where he later died from lacerations to his liver.

Ms Scott said in her victim impact statement her fiancée’s death has left her completely devastated.

She said: “My whole life has changed. I feel I don’t have a life. I feel alone. He was my best friend. I try to convince myself it's not real. My life is totally empty and I don't feel I will ever celebrate a birthday again.

“Emmanuel was happy, calm, generous and would always say hello to everyone. I am left with so many questions like 'Why?' and 'What were you thinking?’”

The court heard that after he was discharged from hospital with minor injuries Mr Cunningham presented himself at a garda station.

He told gardaí he could not remember getting into the car, driving the car onto the slip road or later against the flow of traffic and he could recall very little of the accident.

After the accident Cunningham was found to have had 150mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.

Defence counsel, Mr Paul Greene SC, said his client is extremely remorseful for what happened and before that night was a man of excellent character with no previous convictions.

Judge Martin Nolan said he wasn’t sure what had happened to Cunningham on the night of the offenses but said he didn’t think drink caused him to do what he did.

He said that what Cunningham did was totally reckless and something no sensible person would do.

He said his behaviour was totally out of character for Cunningham who he said, up until that night, was “a perfectly sensible man”.

“I’m not sure Mr Cunningham knew what he was doing. I’m not sure the drink was the cause. I’m not sure that I don’t accept his explanation. It’s very difficult to justly sentence this case.

“He’s not dishonest, he’s not stupid and he’s a man who doesn’t lack sense. I think something happened to Mr Cunningham that night that’s not explainable by the drink he took”.

Judge Nolan said Cunningham was certainly “drunk while driving the car” and that is was “obviously a possibility” that the amount of drink put him into a “insensible state”.

He said he had to take into account Cunningham’s guilty plea, his co-operation with gardaí, his lack of previous convictions and, centrally, his own doubt surrounding whether the guilty man knew what he was doing.

Mr Greene said Cunningham had saved up "as much as was at all possible for him" to raise in compensation for Mr Mendez family and since the accident "is a changed man" who has sworn never to drink again.

€25,000 was handed into the court as a token of Cunningham’s remorse.

The court heard that Mr Mendes’ relative Ms Patricia Mendes has forgiven Mr Cunningham for his actions although she holds him entirely responsible.