Bus driver jailed for Shannonbridge man's death

A bus driver has been jailed for the dangerous driving causing death of a Shannonbridge man in Co. Meath three years ago. 37-year-old Cathal O'Leary, a native of Clonascra, Shannonbridge, had been driving to work in Dublin when his jeep and a Bus Eireann Expressway bus coming from Dublin and driven by the defendant, Sorin Dinu (45), were involved in a collision at the Dublin roundabout on the old Dublin Galway road near Enfield. The court heard O'Leary and his partner had just secured planning permission to build a house in Ballinahown. Dinu of Castlecurragh Heath, Mulhuddart, Dublin, who had originally denied a charge of dangerous driving causing the death of Cathal O'Leary at Johnstown, Enfield, Co. Meath on February 23rd 2009, pleaded guilty on the fourth day of his trial at Trim Circuit Court earlier this year. It had been a misty Monday morning and the commuter traffic was light as the defendant was on his way to Enfield to begin his 6.30am run to Dublin The court heard that the bus was approaching the roundabout just before 6.30am when it veered to the right onto the wrong side of the road, collided with the raised island in the centre of the roundabout, became airborne and its rear undercarriage struck the top of Mr. O'Leary's SUV which was on the opposite side of the roundabout. The bus continued on and crashed through a fence into a field before coming to a halt 48 metres away. Mr. O Leary died instantly while the defendant suffered back and other injuries. The court was told the tacograph in the bus showed it had been travelling at 75km/h as it entered the mouth of the roundabout. The defendant had told gardai the brakes in the bus had failed to respond as he approached the roundabout however a subsequent inspection found the vehicle was in good mechanical order and the brakes were working properly. The engine management system and the cruise control in the bus were also undamaged. A forensic examination of the scene found no sign of brake marks on the road. Sentence had been adjourned to allow time for the preparation of a Probation Report on the defendant and Victim Impact Statements from Mr. O Leary's partner and family. Elizabeth Finn who was the dead man's partner and had been a front seat passenger in his jeep on the day of the accident told the adjourned hearing they had talked of having a family and growing old together but the world had stopped for her the day he died. Sentence had been adjourned to allow time for the preparation of a Probation Report on the defendant and Victim Impact Statements from Mr. O'Leary's partner and family. Elizabeth Finn who was the dead man's partner and had been a front seat passenger in his jeep on the day of the accident, told the adjourned hearing this week that they had talked of having a family and growing old together but the world had stopped for her the day he died. Ms Finn said he had shown her unconditional love and support and had been excited when he secured planning permission to build a house at Ballinahown. "He was great fun and could put his hand to any job. My friends say there was a twinkle in my eye after meeting him," she said She said she was affected by ongoing stress and trauma, her work had suffered and she had become withdrawn, finding it difficult some days even to get up. "All I can see is what I lost, my best friend, my soulmate, I will never stop missing him," she said. Lorraine O'Leary, the dead man's sister told the court he had been great son, brother and uncle and that his death had left the family with an unbearable amount of pain. "My mother had to close Cathal's eyes in the hospital," she said.  She said her father Joe visited his son's grave everyday and there was not a day the family did not think about the dead man. "You'll never know the true cost of your actions that day," she told Sorin Dinu. Father-of-two Sorin Dinu whose wife is expecting a third child in Julybroke down in the witness box and sobbed as he extended his sympathy to the bereaved family and Ms Finn. '"I want to express my endless sorrow for the unfortunate incident which caused his death. I don't know what happened, I am asking myself a thousand times what happened but there is no answer," he said. A defence barrister told the court that his client who had come to Ireland from Romania in 2002 had been under stress at work prior to the crash as he had been told he was to be made redundant and feared he would not be able to maintain his mortgage. His client had to work one of his rest days in the previous week, had only five hours sleep on the night before the accident and a psychiatric report indicated he may have fallen asleep at the wheel just before the accident the barrister added. He said his client who had been driving in a professional capacity under the direction of his employer took full responsibility for what happened "but the question should be posed as whether he should have been driving on that occasion at all". Judge Michael O Shea said the evidence had shown the defendant had failed to approach the roundabout at the proper speed and had allowed the bus go out of control. He said that Sorin Dinu was a professional and experienced driver was the one best placed to decide if he should drive that day. The judge said that Cathal O'Leary was irreplaceable and his loss was catastrophic and while the accident had been a tragedy for Sorin Dinu he still had his life to look forward to. Judge O'Shea imposed a sentence of three years and a 10 years driving ban.