A 20-year-old man has been jailed for 15 months and disqualified from driving for 15 years after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing the death a US tourist in Co Laois in 2022.
Laura Jones, 59, from Colorado was killed in the crash near the Rock of Dunamase on 7 October 2022.
Jamie Kearns, of Cosby Avenue, Portlaoise, Co Laois had also pleaded guilty to a separate charge of dangerous driving causing serious harm to the victim's husband, Doug Jones.
The court heard evidence that the American couple had arrived in Dublin earlier that morning with their daughter Erin and her husband Jacob, for the start of a holiday in the southwest of Ireland and that they had decided to break the journey by visiting the Rock of Dunamase.
As they parked their hired vehicle in a car park near the tourist attraction, they heard a car driving fast before seeing it coming towards them and going out of control at high speed.
A Ford Fiesta driven by Kearns knocked the victim and her husband over a wall before crashing into the wall itself, the court was told.
A large stone from the wall fell on Ms Jones. She suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Mr Jones sustained serious leg injuries and required surgery at the Midlands Regional Hospital in Tullamore later that evening.
At a sentencing hearing, Judge Keenan Johnson noted that Kearns had been driving very fast and had ignored several requests from three friends, who were passengers in the vehicle, to slow down.
The court heard that when interviewed by gardaí, Kearns did not accept that he had been driving at excessive speed.
The judge said it was clear that the accused was driving at an excessive speed which would not allow him to stop in an emergency on a narrow road with a restricted view.
He said Kearns was under a serious misapprehension that his driving was not reckless but added that his low cognitive skills were a factor in him not appreciating the gravity of his offending.
A victim impact statement read out on behalf of Mr Jones said his family had suffered "overwhelming emotional and physical pain" as a result of what was described as "a careless, reckless, selfish and stupid act".
"Our lives were changed forever," the statement read.
Mr Jones expressed regret at not being able to celebrate his 30th wedding anniversary with his wife a few months later and how she had also missed the wedding of another daughter the following summer.
Mr Jones also expressed dismay that his daughter Erin had witnessed her mother’s death, while he had suffered injuries which his doctors were unsure would ever fully heal.
The court heard he and his family had chosen not to travel to Ireland for the hearing or to attend it remotely because it would be too traumatic.
Judge Johnson remarked that unfortunately Mr Jones and his wife were in the wrong place at the wrong time and the case was evidence that "bad things happen to good people".
The judge strongly urged Laois County Council to lower the speed limit on the road from 80km/h to 30km/h as he believed it could prevent other families from experiencing "the unspeakable tragedy" suffered by the victim's relatives.
He said such a measure would "undoubtedly save lives and would be a fitting tribute to the memory of the late Laura Jones".
The judge noted that Kearns, who had bought his car just two weeks earlier, was a learner driver who was not accompanied by a fully qualified driver.
He observed that the accused’s driving at the time of the fatal crash had "a degree of bravado and showmanship" which had demonstrated a gross lack of concern for the safety of other road users.
However, he acknowledged that Kearns entered an early guilty plea and had expressed remorse which the judge accepted was sincere and genuine.
He remarked that Kearns was not an inherently bad person but his immaturity had led him to make a very bad decision that day.
Imposing a prison sentence of two years and three months, Judge Johnson said he would suspend the final 12 months, saying he believed it was "measured, proportionate, just and fair".
"It is extremely punitive and far-reaching," he added.
The judge expressed hope that the victim’s family would appreciate the reasoning behind his ruling and observed that a longer penal sentence would not serve the interests of justice or do justice to the memory of Ms Jones.
The judge said the sentence was not designed to punish the accused but to deter others from speeding and driving unaccompanied as a learner driver.
