Community Service to be considered for careless driver

By Eimear Dodd

A driver who struck a woman in her 80s while she was crossing the road is to be assessed for her suitability for community service.

Shirley Creighton (49) of Derham Park, Balbriggan, Co. Dublin, pleaded guilty to careless driving, causing serious bodily harm on July 12, 2022, at Bridge Street, Balbriggan. She has no previous convictions and has not come to garda attention since this incident.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard today that Creighton suffered a recent bereavement but wished for the case to proceed.

Judge Dara Hayes extended the court’s condolences to Creighton.

After hearing the facts, he adjourned the case until December 18 and directed the Probation Service to assess her suitability for community service.

Garda Joanne McGinn told Kieran Kelly BL, prosecuting, that Creighton was making a right turn onto Bridge Street when she struck the injured party who was crossing the road.

The victim, a woman in her late 80s, fell to the ground and was taken to hospital.

She sustained a serious fracture to her leg, requiring an operation and skin grafts.

The court heard that Creighton was not driving fast, and it appears she did not see the victim crossing the road.

CCTV was played to the court. Gda McGinn agreed with prosecuting counsel that the cause of the incident is unclear.

The victim declined to provide a victim impact statement.

The court heard that her home required adaptation for her to continue to live independently.

Gda McGinn agreed with Diana Stuart BL, defending, that this had caused considerable distress to her client, who is extremely apologetic.

It was further accepted that Creighton was driving her mother to an appointment on the day of the crash.

Gda McGinn agreed that Creighton sold her car and did not drive for a period of time after this, despite having family obligations.

The witness accepted that Creighton’s husband and family are held in high esteem locally.

It was also agreed that Creighton is grateful to the victim’s family for their approach to this case and that other proceedings have been finalised.

Ms Stuart said her client accepts she must have taken her eyes off the road and “regrets every second of what occurred”.

A letter of apology and several testimonials were handed into the court.

A probation report was provided to the court, and counsel said Creighton is willing to undertake community service.

Ms Stuart said her client “disqualified herself” by not driving after this incident, and it took her six months to regain her confidence in driving again.

She asked the court to consider allowing her client to retain her driving licence and not imposing a period of disqualification.

She noted her client is aware that the victim is a “lady in her most vulnerable years and now had those years hampered by what occurred in relation to her mobility”.

Counsel asked the court for as much leniency as possible for her client.