Ballyfermot man jailed for hitting 21-year-old with car and fleeing scene

By Claire Henry and Isabel Hayes

A young man who was driving at twice the speed limit when he struck a 21-year-old man, killing him instantly before fleeing the scene, has been jailed for four years and three months.

There were emotional scenes in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court as Cameron Cooper (23) was jailed for the hit and run death of 21-year-old Dylan Killalee Maher.

Cooper, of Ballyneety Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10, called emergency services in the wake of the fatal crash – but instead of seeking help, he falsely told gardaí his car had been stolen in an attempt to avoid blame, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard.

He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death, driving with no insurance, making a false report of a crime and failing to offer assistance to avoid criminal or civil prosecution at locations on the Naas Road and Turnpike Road on November 12, 2023.

He has no previous convictions.

Passing sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court today, Judge Ronan Munro said it was difficult to put into words the devastation inflicted on the family of Mr Killalee Maher, an apprentice electrician.

The court was packed with his family and friends who were visibly emotional throughout. Cooper kept his head bowed in the dock as the sentence was passed down.

Mr Killalee Maher was described in court as a “deeply loved person” who brought a smile to everyone’s face and who was hardworking and fun-loving. He regularly cared for his elderly grandmother.

Judge Munro said there was nothing the court could ever do to undo the “enormous tragedy inflicted on the Maher family”.

“This is not a murder case,” he said. “I know it feels like a murder case for the family. It’s important to stress that whatever penalty is imposed, it can not measure the life of Dylan Maher. The sentence I’m about to impose can never measure that.”

The judge noted the maximum sentence for dangerous driving causing death is 10 years and that Cooper was a first-time offender with no previous convictions who pleaded guilty to the offences, which meant the victim’s family did not have to sit through a trial. Like Mr Killalee Maher, he was also an apprentice electrician at the time of the offence.

Judge Munro said that in his view Cooper’s actions that night amounted to a “homicide”, noting the speed he used was “unconscionable”, particularly as he knew the area and knew there was a nightclub entrance at that part of the road.

The judge noted there was empty cans of fast gas in the car and Cooper and his friends had obviously been having a good time, although there was no evidence Cooper ingested any gas himself.

He said it was clear that as well as driving at double the speed limit, there was also inattention on the part of Cooper. “He was 100% liable,” the judge said.

He said Cooper’s parents also have to live with what he has done, but while the court has heard his incarceration will be particularly hard for his brother, “Dylan Maher is gone forever” while “Cameron Cooper will someday be getting out of prison”.

Judge Munro handed down a five year, three month sentence and suspended the final year for a period of five years on a number of conditions. He told Cooper that should he break any road traffic rules during that five-year period, he will be brought back to court and put in jail.

He also disqualified Cooper from driving for nine years.

After the sentence was handed down, Mr Killalee Maher’s mother broke down, saying: “I didn’t get to say goodbye to my son”.

The families left court separately upon Judge Munro’s request, with a significant garda presence in court.

Speaking outside court, the late man’s mother called for the maximum sentence for dangerous driving causing death to be raised to at least 14 years, in line with Northern Ireland.

“While we acknowledge the sentence handed down today and thank the court for its time, it has brought to light the inadequacy of the penalties for dangerous driving causing death in our country,” Catherine Killalee said.

“Ireland’s current maximum sentence of 10 years is insufficient and fails to reflect the devastation caused by such crimes. This is not justice. Lives are not numbers, and no one should feel that the weight of their loved one’s life can be trivialised by a lenient sentence.

“We are therefore calling for urgent reform. The maximum sentence for dangerous driving causing death must be increased to at least 14 years to align with practices in Northern Ireland. Our loved ones deserve better, and as a society, we must do better. Sentences need to reflect the seriousness of these crimes and offer grieving families some semblance of justice.”

She said her son was “a kind, caring and driven young man with a bright future ahead”.

“He was just six weeks away from qualifying as an electrician, a career he was deeply passionate about.” He was also a “devoted carer to his grandmother, taking on responsibilities many his age wouldn’t”, she said.

“His warmth and generosity left a lasting impact on everyone who knew hum and his loss has left a void that can never be filled.”

At a sentence hearing last Friday, Garda Charles McPartland told Seamus Clarke SC, prosecuting, that on the night in question Mr Killalee Maher was driven to the Red Cow Hotel with some friends as they were going to the nightclub.

When the driver of the car, Jamie Brady, pulled his car up near the barrier to the Red Cow Hotel, Mr Killalee Maher got out of and walked to the back of the car to get his jacket from the boot.

The court heard that Mr Killalee Maher was standing at the boot of the car for 14 seconds when a red car approached at speed and collided with the car, pinning Mr Killalee Maher between both cars.

Two medics who were in the Red Cow Hotel attended the scene within seconds. One of the medics told gardai that she could see Mr Killalee Maher was trapped half underneath the car. The medic grabbed a medical “grab bag” and used shears to cut open Mr Killalee Maher’s shirt, and she, along with her colleague, began CPR.

Others arrived at the scene, and oxygen therapy was used on Mr Killalee Maher. Dublin Fire Brigade arrived and hoisted the car so Mr Killalee Maher could be freed. On doing so, it became apparent that both of Mr Killalee Maher’s legs had been amputated.

The court heard that the accident occurred at 12.16am.

From viewing CCTV footage, a male later identified as Cameron Cooper, the driver of the red car, was seen walking away from the scene at 12.19am.

At 12.23am, Cooper made a 999 call and told the operator that he had been pulled from his car and that it had been stolen. Cooper then ended the call. The 999 operator called Cooper back three times, during which he answered the call but hung up.

At 2.40 am, Cooper and his girlfriend presented to a garda station and told them he had been involved in a collision at the Red Cow earlier. He said he had hit a pedestrian, left the scene, and was sorry.

Gardai had already identified the red car as belonging to him and had called to his home, but there was no answer. He was arrested and was initially unfit for interview as he was injured from the earlier collision.

Gda McPartland told the court that Cooper was interviewed three times. During the first interview, he told gardai that he had picked up his friends and given them a lift to the nightclub. He said he saw the white car and tried to stop but didn’t know what happened. He handed over his mobile phone and PIN.

Cooper told gardai that he did not know what speed he was going, only that he was “not going fast”. He said the white car had just “appeared”.

He told them: “I panicked so much, I didn’t know what to do.” He said he “hit the brakes – and the whole car slid”. Cooper also said that he did not know anyone was hurt and that his “head was all over the place”.

The court heard that Cooper did not wish to view the CCTV footage of the accident during his garda interview. At one point, he said he believed he was driving at 60km per hour. He was asked if he had a full driver’s licence, and he said no, but that one of his passengers had. This turned out to be untrue, and he was fined.

Gardai asked Cooper if he was fully insured, and he said he was. This also transpired to be untrue, and only his girlfriend was insured on the car, but Cooper was the registered owner.

Prosecuting counsel read a garda forensic report to the court. The first finding was a velocity report, which said Cooper’s car travelled between 114 and 124 km per hour. The second report used CCTV footage to calculate Cooper’s car’s speed and placed it at 121 to 125 km per hour. The speed limit was 60km per hour.

Medical reports, including a postmortem examination, were handed into court. The reports stated that Mr Killalee Maher died instantly. The report said there were 65 injuries to Mr Killalee Maher’s body, including various fractures, injuries to the anterior trunk and bilateral lower leg injuries. There were multiple traumatic injuries to the neck and head.

Gda McPartland agreed with Dominic McGinn SC, defending, that the car Cooper was driving had been insured under his name up until July of that year, and it was then transferred to his girlfriend.

The garda agreed with counsel that Cooper was cooperative, handed over his phone and PIN and entered an early guilty plea. He also accepted that there was tension between both families. A letter of apology from Cooper was handed into the court, but Mr Killalee Maher’s family did not wish to accept it.

Five victim impact statements were read to the court, the first from Mr Killalee Maher’s 15-year-old sister on behalf of her and her twin brother. “Dylan was my big brother and a gentleman,” she said.

“No sentence given today will replace the taking of my brother. No prison sentence will take away this pain.”

“I will have to miss him longer than I have known him”.

Mr Killalee Maher’s grandmother prepared a statement that a family member read. Dylan’s last words to his Nanny Kay were: “Love you, see you later Nanny.” When his grandmother asked if he would be home later, he said: “Of course I will be home; don’t I always come home?”

“That promise was taken from him. Dylan is never coming home,” she said.

“…Every time we close our eyes and see his face, we wonder what the last thing he saw was.”

A victim impact statement was read on behalf of Dylan’s paternal family, the Mahers. “The lives of every member of our family have been affected,” his father said.

“For me, when I close my eyes, I see him cold in a coffin. Every night, I hear his mother’s screams when they closed that coffin.”

Dylan’s older brother, Evan, read the fourth victim impact statement.

“My Dylan is dead. I will never forget this, and it will haunt me for the rest of my life,” he said. “…My whole family is destroyed by this coward. He left him on the side of the road.”

He said: “I will always fight for his name until the day I die. I will miss my brother and best friend for the rest of my life.”

The fifth and final victim impact statement was read by Dylan’s mother, Ms Killalee.

She told the court that preparing her statement had taken her over a month. “It has been the hardest thing we have ever had to do,” she said.

She recalled getting “the phone call that every parent dreads”.

“I headed to the Red Cow, and I headed towards the blue light. I ran down the motorway to my son. I pleaded with the garda to tell me it was not true, but I knew from the look on his face.”

“It was confirmed to me that Dylan was dead. It was our precious son dead on that road, blood pouring from him”.

“We asked if we could kiss him, hold him, but we were told no. Imagine not being able to touch your own son.”

“At that exact moment, we knew we were helpless on that road. A part of us died on that road that night.”

“We never got to say goodbye to our son. All we got was his broken body in a wooden box.”

She said: “We haven’t lost him once. We have lost him every day since.”

“We don’t want to hear an apology from him or his family. He left Dylan lying on the road – the spineless coward that he is.”

She concluded by saying, “No remorse has been shown; no apology will ever be accepted.”

“…I hope you see his face every time you close your eyes.”

CCTV footage of the impact was shown to the packed courtroom. Mr Killalee Maher’s mother’s scream pierced the courtroom when the car collided with his body.

Defence counsel said dangerous driving causing death is the most difficult for sentencing.

“Nothing I can say on behalf of my client can bring Dylan back,” he said.

“No motorist sets out to kill somebody, they set out to go from A to B,” Mr McGinn said. “This is not a deliberate killing.”

Mr McGinn said Cooper had pleaded guilty, there was no use of drugs or alcohol, and he was not using a mobile phone while driving.

He said Cooper is 23-year-old with no previous convictions, was co-operative with gardai, and he entered an early guilty plea, which could be seen as a tangible sign of remorse.

He asked the court to take into account that Cooper “is more than just what he was doing on that night”.

He said Cooper is “a respected member of his community, he has a good work history and that this is an isolated slice of his life”.