Two Limerick men jailed after high-speed chase killed motorcyclist and injured two others

Van was being pursued at high speed by car, both on the wrong side of the road, when the van collided with group of three motorcyclists after it took a bend at high speed, killing one man instantly and seriously injuring two others, one who later died, court heard

One of the accused was jailed for six and half years and the other was jailed for five years and nine months. Picture: Dan Linehan

Two men have been jailed after they were involved in a high-speed chase on the N24 Limerick to Tipperary road, resulting in the death of a motorcyclist and serious injuries to two others.

Michael Stanners, aged 41, of Pineview Gardens, Moyross, Limerick, was jailed for six and half years and given a 10-year road ban on Friday, after he was previously convicted by a jury at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court of two counts of endangerment.

Daniel Phillips, aged 35, of Crecora Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston, Limerick, was jailed for five years and nine months, and given a 10-year road ban, after he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of motorcyclist Maurice Fehilly, and to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm to motorcyclist Thomas Traynor. 

Mr Traynor subsequently died after undergoing 22 operations due to his injuries.

Phillips received a concurrent three-month sentence after he pleaded guilty to driving without insurance on the same day.

A third motorcyclist, Tom Conway, was travelling in a single file convoy along with Mr Fehilly and Mr Traynor, but he escaped serious injury and attended court with the families of the two deceased.

The trio had formed their own motorcycle group called the 'Sunshiners', which they named because they never ventured out on the roads if it was raining.

Fatal collision

The fatal collision occurred outside the village of Dromkeen, Co Limerick, on January 4, 2020, on what was a fine dry day.

Judge Sinead McMullan said Phillips was driving a Hyundai van being pursued at high speed by a group of four men, who were travelling in a Toyota Avensis car, which was being driven by Stanners.

During the pursuit, one of the men in the car driven by Stanners, leant out of the vehicle and struck Phillips’ van with a baseball bat and roared “you're dead, you’re dead, you’re dead”.

The van and car were travelling on the wrong side of the road, the court heard.

The van being driven by Phillips, who was accompanied by a woman and a young child, collided with Mr Fehilly and Mr Traynor, both from Clonmel, Co Tipperary, after he took a bend in the road at high speed.

Mr Fehilly died almost instantly, and Mr Traynor was rushed to hospital, later undergoing 22 surgeries. He had to have one of his legs amputated below the knee and subsequently died.

Judge McMullan described as “absolutely reprehensible” Stanners’ driving leading up to the collision, and said she found it “difficult to imagine a worse scenario” for the victims' families.

The judge said the three motorcycle enthusiasts were travelling “perfectly appropriately” in single file and below the speed limit and their motorbikes were in first-class condition.

Stanners had previous convictions for dangerous driving, careless driving, drug driving, driving without insurance, arson, and possession of an article capable of inflicting serious injury and theft.

The judge said Phillips was “not the instigator” as “he was pursued by Mr Stanners”, but he was “very culpable”.

Victim impact statements

Loraine Fehilly set out in her victim impact statement the “emotional turmoil on her and her children”, the judge said.

“She lost her husband, who was a full time carer for their son, Sam, and that is a really tragic outcome.” 

The judge added Dara Traynor told the court in her victim impact statement that her family had been devastated by the loss of her father. Her sister Ciara Traynor “poignantly set out how distressed her father was in hospital when he couldn’t say a last goodbye to his friend [Maurice Fehilly] as the risk of infection was too high and he couldn’t leave the hospital”.

Phillips was banned by the courts from driving at the time he ploughed into the motorcyclists. He had previous convictions for driving without insurance, driving without a licence, possession of firearms, trespass, and theft.

Speaking outside the court, the deceased men's families called for the maximum sentence for dangerous driving to be increased from 10 years to 14 years.

Maurice Fehilly’s widow, Loraine Fehilly, and Mr Traynor’s widow, Nancy Traynor, said they loved and missed their husbands but welcomed the sentences and said they felt they had “got justice”.