Cork teenager who left toddler with permanent brain injury fails to get sentence reduced

The court heard that the child was thrown into the air and the teenager knew that he had hit him, but sped off leaving him "bleeding and lifeless" on the road.

Judge Seán Ó Donnabhain said that to leave the scene of the accident almost bordered on inhumane. File photo

The Court of Appeal has upheld a four-year sentence for an unlicensed teenage driver who knowingly sped off after hitting a toddler, leaving him "bleeding and lifeless" on the road. The court heard the boy now has a life-long brain injury.

The court did reduce a further sentence for a violent disorder conviction against the Cork youth from 12 months to six months and banned him from driving for 15 years rather than the 20 imposed by the sentencing judge.