Judge asks if drivers were racing before tragic debs crash

The bereft father of a teenage girl, one of two killed in a horrific crash on the way to their debs in August 2023, interrupted court proceedings at Monaghan District Court on Monday.

Frankie McCann’s outburst came during the hearing of a case against the man driving in the vehicle behind the car that crashed resulting in the deaths of Kiea McCann (17) and her friend Dlava Mohamed (16) near Clones on the way to the Largy College Debs.

Alin Sorin Gatea (46) with an address in Carn Heights, Clones, Co Monaghan, had pleaded guilty to five counts of dangerous driving at townlands along the N54 Monaghan road out of Clones on the evening of August 31, 2023.

The outburst from the body of the court was prompted by a question from Judge Raymond Finnegan to the prosecution as to whether the two men were racing on the occasion.

The judge warned Mr McCann that he would be put out of the chamber if he interrupted again.

Mr McCann agreed to leave the room but, as he was doing so, made a few more comments, calling the defendant a “f***ing w***ker”.

Asked by the judge, if the McCann family believed the drivers were racing, Garda Inspector Ann-Marie Lardner replied “yes they do”.

In reply to the judge’s question about the prosecution’s position on whether the cars were racing, Insp Lardner said a file with recommendations had been forwarded to the Director of Prosecutions from An Garda Síochána.

“All of the recommendations made did not form charges that came back,” she added.

It was repeatedly emphasised by the defendant’s solicitor, and accepted by the prosecuting Garda inspector, that the case against Gatea was being taken solely in relation to his own driving and not being linked by the DPP to the tragic crash involving the car travelling ahead.

The prosecution replayed dashcam footage from his 2008-registered BMW car to emphasise the speed at which Gatea was travelling and the manner of his driving.

A full version of the same dashcam footage had been played at the trial at Monaghan Circuit Court last month of that car’s driver, 62-year-old Anthony McGinn, who received a seven-year prison term for dangerous driving causing the deaths of the two teenage girls.

The footage shows the view from the dashboard as Gatea’s car leaves Clones on its way to the debs event.

The footage shown in court on Monday was stopped just before the actual point of the fatal crash. It showed a car coming down the hill from Clones behind a cattle trailer-type vehicle. The white BMW, driven by Anthony McGinn, is shown passing both the dashcam vehicle and the trailer. The dashcam vehicle then passes the trailer too, and travels on towards Monaghan, reaching what were obviously very considerable speeds.

Insp Lardner said that Gatea’s car was carrying his son (19) and his son’s debs ball partner (18). It was about 6:30pm in the evening and the road was wet as there had been rain.

Forensic analysis covering time and distance had shown Gatea’s vehicle to be travelling at between 145.42km/h and 151.45km/h, Inspector Lardner stated. The sections of roadway in question, between the Circle K store and the New Line junction, were governed initially by 60km/h and then 80/km/h signs, she pointed out.

The inspector emphasised that there was quite a lot of oncoming traffic on the road, and there were also two passengers in the defendant’s vehicle.

Defence solicitor, Catherine Taaffe, asked the Inspector to confirm that what happened in relation to the car in front was not connected the charges Gatea was facing.

Insp Lardner replied that the prosecution before the court was simply for dangerous driving and Gatea was not facing any other charges.

Judge Finnegan was also informed of a previous conviction the defendant had for driving uninsured, dating back to 2016, in which a charge of exceeding the speed limit in a built-up area had been taken into account.

Ms Taaffe described her client as a Romanian father of four children, aged from 20 down to five years, who had been in this country for 10 years. He was earning €360 per week as a general operative.

Threats to his life

She also stated that her client had been “blamed” for the event that occurred on the same occasion and had received threats to his life. His car had been destroyed, as had that of his son, and his name and face were published on Facebook where various accusations were made.

There remained “a live threat” on her client’s life, Ms Taaffe said. She told the court he is now suicidal and suffering from PTSD, and his wife had threatened to leave him and take the children from the country.

Judge Finnegan said he could fully understand the pain and hurt the McCann family members were experiencing but stressed that he had to make his decision on the basis of the prosecution before him, which amounted to speed-related counts of dangerous driving. He could not presuppose anything else.

The judge said it was clear, however, that due to the manner of Gatea’s driving and the speed in the conditions that pertained, the defendant had put at risk the lives of the two young people who were in the car with him. He also put his own life at risk.

On that basis, Judge Finnegan handed down consecutive six-month prison sentences for dangerous driving counts at the townlands of Clonkirk, Altartae Glebe and Legnakelly (coming to 18 months in total) but suspended each for 24 months in Gatea’s own bond of €100. Two other dangerous driving courts at Largy and Clonkeen were taken into account.

A four-year driving disqualification was also given to Gatea, with recognisances for any appeal set at €250 in cash.

Judge Finnegan declined a request from Ms Taaffe for a postponement of the disqualification.