A Limerick woman has gone on trial accused of reckless endangerment and dangerous parking arising from a fatal accident in which an 80-year-old man died two years ago.
Mary Meade, 70, from Lissard, Galbally, has denied the charges arising from an investigation into a crash in which pedestrian Jim Corbett died.
He was standing at the door of the accused woman and died when he was struck by one of three cars that crashed at Ballyfruta, Ballylanders, on 26 November, 2010.
He was struck by a Toyota Rav vehicle, which was itself hit by a Honda.
The State alleges that Mrs Meade parked her black Opel Astra car outside Jim Corbett's home in a dangerous position, with the lights on, in circumstances in which the fatal accident occurred.
The State does not allege that she caused the death of Mr Corbett.
It was described as a very sad case as the accused woman and the victim knew each other.
Witness Finbar O'Sullivan, who was travelling the road that night to his home in Fermoy, says he came around a bend and was blinded by the lights of a car parked on the road.
As a result, he had to swerve and drove into a ditch.
He came down and pleaded with the accused woman several times to move her car and turn off her lights.
He also said he asked her to go up the road and see for herself what he had experienced, and was dumbfounded when she did not.
As he was making his way back to his own car, he then heard the sounds of a collision and the screams of a woman saying "Oh my God".
He then saw the Toyota embedded in the back of Mrs Meade's car, and a Honda car was embedded in the back of the Toyota.
He said a man he had seen earlier had been injured.
Under cross-examination, the witness denied that he had been "belting it" in his car, or that he had plenty of time and distance to react when he saw the lights on the accused woman's car.
Mrs Meade's defence team claims that she was parked legitimately and inside the yellow lines on the road, with her dipped lights, not her headlights on, at the time.
The trial is continuing before a jury of eight women and four men at Limerick Circuit Court.
