Mother of motorcyclist killed in careless driving case shakes defendant’s hand in court

By Eimear Dodd

The mother of a motorcyclist killed in collision three years ago has said his loss has left a “void” in the family.

In a powerful and emotional victim impact statement, Annette Keane told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that her youngest son John (34) was a “kind and caring person” who was heavily involved in charity work through his life.

Over the last 12 months of his life, Mr Keane had voluntarily delivered PPE throughout the country during the Covid pandemic .

Mrs Keane said her son was “so helpful to everyone”, and is greatly missed by his older brothers, nieces and the wider family.

She described a “sadness in their lives”, speaking about a “void” and a “big hole” in the family.

Mr Keane was killed following a collision between his motorcycle and a car driven by Karl Ennis (65) on the evening of April 14, 2021.

Ennis was completing a right turn from Northwest Business Park onto Mitchelstown Road, when his black Peugeot coupe collided with Mr Keane’s black Yamaha motorcycle.

Mr Keane’s parents, Annette and John Snr, along with other family members were present in court for the sentence hearing.

“We don’t wish any harm on the man who was driving the car. I feel for him deeply too”, Mrs Keane told the court.

She shook the defendant’s hand as she walked to the witness box to read the statement. Ennis could be heard saying “I’m sorry” before they hugged briefly.

Ennis pleaded guilty to a charge of careless driving.

The court heard that he was initially charged with careless driving causing death, but the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) accepted a guilty plea to the summary offence on the basis that the Keane family could provide victim impact evidence.

The maximum penalty for careless driving is a fine of up to €5,000. The court also has the power to impose a disqualification or five penalty points.

Ennis, of Templeton, Fethard-on-Sea, Co. Wexford, was yesterday disqualified from driving for three months and fined €2,000.

Imposing sentence, Judge Pauline Codd extended the court’s condolences to the Keane family, noting that Mr Keane was “obviously very loved and good”.

She also highlighted their deep loss and grief, and compassion towards the defendant.

Judge Codd noted the DPP had accepted a plea to a summary charge, but said the case is “serious” in the sense that it involved a young man’s death.

She said Ennis’s culpability arose from not seeing the motorbike, but was reduced by factors including the road’s gradient and that sadly, the motorbike was travelling at high speed.

While Ennis was not “wholly to blame” for the collision, he didn’t “pay sufficient attention as he didn’t see the motorcycle approaching”, the judge said.

She added that the court couldn’t ignore the “very serious” consequences of a “momentary lapse” and that there had to be general deterrence because attention must be paid to one’s driving and the behaviour of other road users.

Judge Codd noted the Keane family’s “forgiving attitude” and in the circumstances, the court would adopt “a merciful attitude”.

Garda Inspector Derek Ellard outlined to Fionnula O’Sullivan BL, prosecuting, that the fatal collision occurred around 5pm on April 14, 2021 on the Mitchelstown Road. It was a bright evening and weather conditions were good.

Both men separately worked at the Northwest Business Park and were individually on their way home.

The court heard one witness was travelling ahead of the bike, saw the black car pull out then stopped realising there was going to be an collision.

This person described Ennis immediately after the collision as distraught and saying “I didn’t see him”.

Mr Keane was pronounced dead at the scene.

When gardai arrived at the scene, Ennis identified himself as the driver of the car, which was in good condition, and supplied his documents, which were in order.

He also passed saliva and breath tests.

CCTV footage was obtained as part of the investigation, but it was difficult to see the collision, the court heard.

Ennis made a voluntary cautioned statement to gardai in which he acknowledged driving the car and said he hadn’t seen the motorcycle travelling on Mitchelstown Road.

A forensic collision report was equivocal and noted a number of contributing factors , Ms O’Sullivan told the court.

She noted that the examiners concluded the motorcycle would have been visible to Ennis as he carried out the right turn, but a contributing factor was the speed of the bike, which was in excess of the road’s 50km/hr speed limit.

The court heard that Mr Keane’s motorcycle was calculated to be travelling at average speeds of 128km/hr prior to the impact with the car.

Insp Ellard agreed with David Staunton BL, defending, that his client said during interview that he assessed it was safe to proceed, only moved out when he was satisfied no traffic was approaching from any direction and that his car had entered the carriageway before he felt the impact.

He accepted the defence’s suggestion that witnesses described Ennis as upset and concerned for Mr Keane.

It was further agreed that Ennis was co-operative with gardai and has no previous convictions.

Mr Staunton said the loss suffered by the Keane family is “profound” and that his client is “acutely aware” of this.

He said Ennis has three adult children and his first wife died in tragic circumstances, giving him some insight into what the Keane family must endure, counsel said.

Ennis worked remotely for a time following the collision, but has since retired. His partner was in court to support him.

Noting the interaction between Mrs Keane and his client, Mr Staunton said it was “rare” to see this and illustrated the “unusual circumstances” of the case.

Counsel argued that his client’s culpability was low and in light of the nature of the summary offence, did not meet the threshold for a disqualification to be imposed.

Ennis lives in a rural area with no public transport and any disqualification would negatively impact his life, counsel noted.

Judge Codd agreed to extend legal aid in the event of an appeal and directed the fine to be paid within 12 months.