Man who crashed into parked car and drove off may have suffered stroke, court hears

Accused said he felt the car was 'pulling to the left' and thought he may have hit a pothole, but did not realise he had hit another vehicle until he was shown the CCTV footage

The court heard defendant had been driving on a learner permit for 25 years and had failed his driving test twice. Picture: Dan Linehan

A motorist who crashed into a parked car and then drove off may have suffered a stroke that affected his judgement at the time, Clonakilty District Court has heard.

Robert O’Sullivan, aged 76, of Hospital Road, Bantry, Co Cork, was charged with failing to stop, failing to remain at the scene of an accident, failing to report an accident, and failing to provide information after an accident.

Witness Billy Crowley said he was in his house at West Green, Dunmanway, on February 17, 2025, when at about 1.10pm, he heard a loud bang outside. When he went outside, he found his car, a silver 2015 Nissan Qashqai had been badly damaged, but the other vehicle had not remained at the scene.

Mr Crowley said the cost of damage to the vehicle was estimated at €7,000 and it could not be driven afterwards due to damage caused to the steering. He said his insurance had covered the cost of the repairs.

Garda Kieran Cotter told the court when he investigated the incident, he identified a grey Renault Kadjar as the offending vehicle from footage on the town CCTV system and identified the registered owner as Robert O’Sullivan.

Mr O’Sullivan told the court he was driving towards Bantry on the day in question to meet a boiler engineer. He said he felt the car was “pulling to the left” and thought he may have hit a pothole but did not realise he had hit another vehicle until he was shown the CCTV footage. 

The court heard Mr O’Sullivan had been driving on a learner permit for 25 years and had failed his driving test twice.

Defence solicitor Sean Cahill said Mr O’Sullivan had given a statement to gardaí a week later and on the same day had visited his GP who told him he had probably had a stroke and he was advised to attend Cork University Hospital immediately. The court heard Mr O’Sullivan was admitted to CUH and underwent surgery.

Mr Cahill said later on the same day as the incident in Dunmanway, Mr O’Sullivan had been involved in another collision in Ballineen, where he again hit a parked car. That incident was dealt with by way of fixed penalty notice which Mr O’Sullivan had paid.

Mr O’Sullivan’s partner Maureen Moran told the court she had collected Mr O’Sullivan from the incident in Ballineen where a paramedic advised her he had had probably had a TIA or stoke. She told the court Mr O’Sullivan was stubborn and would not go to hospital, but later rang his GP to arrange an appointment a week later.

Mr Cahill said it was his submission Mr O’Sullivan’s judgement had been affected by him having a stroke, and added he had not driven since. 

Inspector Roisín O’Dea said Mr O’Sullivan was asked when he made a statement if he had any medical issues at the time of the accident, and he had replied he did not.

Mr O’Sullivan said he made the statement before he was admitted to hospital and subsequently underwent surgery, which was successful.

Judge John King said based on the evidence, he had to have a reasonable doubt as to whether Mr O’Sullivan had intentionally left the scene of the accident, and he dismissed the case.

This article is funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme