US drunk driver jailed for six years for dancer’s death

A FORMER US National Guardsman has been jailed for six years for killing a teenage dancer from Clare while driving drunk.

The Pittsburgh judge said he initially thought Joseph Livoti deserved a longer sentence, but agreed to the plea bargain in part because of letters requesting leniency he received from the family of Margaret Brohan.

The letters expressed grief for the loss of a “marvellously talented human being,” and an appreciation for the remorse shown by Livoti, Judge David Cashman said.

“The compassion that the Brohans have shown is a tribute to Margaret, and I will not besmirch that memory,” he added as Livoti, who lives in Indiana, stood before him sobbing, his head hanging low.

Livoti, 27, who could have received up to 13 years in prison, was drunk when he smashed his car into one carrying Miss Brohan, 19, in November 2003.

His blood alcohol level was more than twice Pennsylvania’s legal limit for drivers, police said.

Miss Brohan, of Ennis, County Clare, was in Pittsburgh performing in a show called the Rhythm of the Dance. She was killed instantly and two other show members were injured.

Livoti, who was assigned to a security detail at an air base at the time of the crash, was discharged from the Pennsylvania Army National Guard after the accident.

On the first anniversary of the crash, Livoti had Margaret’s initials, the date of the crash and a Gaelic cross tattooed on his left forearm, said his lawyer, Sumner Parker.

He said Livoti wanted a constant reminder of what he had done. Mr Parker said he had never seen such remorse in a defendant.