No jail for Cork student who was filmed boasting while drink-driving before crash

The three passengers were injured and one of them ended up in intensive care with a lacerated liver and one of his kidneys has been reduced to 10% of its function.

One condition of the suspension — something suggested by the accused himself — is that he would return to his primary school sixth class pupils and to his secondary school and address students about the dangers of drink-driving. File picture

A Leaving Cert student boasted and joked as he was filmed drinking behind the wheel of his car shortly before crashing into a wall causing serious injuries to his friends travelling with him.

The video made against a background of rap music showed 18-year-old Seán Barrett of Wheatridge, Maryborough Woods, Cork, laughing and joking about drink-driving in his Volkswagen Polo after they had all been at a match earlier that day — December 3, 2021. He is now 20 and faced sentencing at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

Judge Catherine Staines said the video joking about drink-driving was “absolutely appalling”. She later added that to boast about it on video was “abhorrent.” The three passengers were injured, two of them seriously. One of them ended up in intensive care with a lacerated liver and one of his kidneys has been reduced to 10% of its function.

The single-vehicle crash occurred at the junction of Inchigaggin Lane and Model Farm Road where Garda Anthony Sugrue said the emergency services arrived that night on the scene of what was clearly a very serious crash, with four teenagers in the car, including the driver Seán Barrett.

After describing the scene, Garda Sugrue played a short video which one of the passengers made of the driver drinking from a clear spirits bottle, joking about what he was doing as loud rap music played. He had three-and-a-half times the permitted level of alcohol for driving at the time he crashed his car into the wall.

Sentencing

Extensive submissions were made in mitigation by defence senior counsel, Siobhán Lankford. After hearing those, the judge imposed a sentence of three years which she suspended and banned him from driving for six years. 

The judge said she was setting as a condition of the suspension — something suggested by the accused himself — that he would return to his primary school sixth class pupils and to his secondary school and address students about the dangers of drink-driving in light of his experience, once a year for the next three years. The judge said that hopefully this would deter others from doing what he did.

Judge Staines said that another message that should also come from this case is that a motorist not intending to drive after alcohol should never drive to their destination in the first place as this put them in a situation where they might be tempted to drive home when their decision-making ability was clouded by alcohol.

And furthermore, the judge said, that without blaming the victims in any way whatsoever, young people should learn from such a case that they should never get into a car when the driver had been drinking.

Seán Barrett who is now in his first year of university abroad agreed that the video was appalling.

“I can assure you nothing like this will ever happen again. I have learned from this. I give my apologies again (to his three injured friends) and I hope the best for them through everything and that they keep getting better and better,” the 20-year-old said.

Ms Lankford said: “None of the young people involved have expressed a desire to make victim impact statements. He is on good terms with these individuals. They never looked to blame him… I don’t think there is any desire for vengeance. He has come forward on a signed plea of guilty. 

He took responsibility for this at the scene of the collision. At no point was there any obfuscation. He is genuinely remorseful.

Ms Lankford said she could have gotten any number of letters of character reference and she provided some that described him as an exemplary student throughout his primary and secondary education.

Judge Staines noted the absence of previous convictions, genuine remorse and parental support and said that after his university education the defendant would be in a position to make a positive contribution to society. “Hopefully, he can communicate to other young people (on school visits) so that this kind of thing does not happen again,” the judge said.