A 33-year-old man has been found guilty of dangerous driving causing the death of GAA commentator Paudie Palmer.
Bohdan Bezverkhyi, who is a native of Ukraine but has an address at Rigsdale House in Ballinhassig, Co Cork, had denied dangerous driving causing the death of Mr Palmer at Dunkereen Cross, Innishannon, Cork on 29 December 2022.
Mr Palmer was a 65-year-old native of Kenmare in Co Kerry. He taught for 40 years at St Brogan's College in Bandon, Co Cork and was also a columnist for The Echo newspaper.
Mr Palmer was hospitalised in the aftermath of the accident and died in Cork University Hospital on 8 January 2023.
The jury of seven women and five men returned a unanimous guilty verdict this afternoon following almost six hours of deliberations.
The trial got under way last week at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.
Judge Jonathan Dunphy thanked the jury for their attention to detail. Bezverkhyi was remanded in custody for sentencing on 2 May next.
Victim impact statements will be prepared in advance of the sentencing hearing. A governor’s report has also been ordered.
Meanwhile, earlier this week the trial heard that Bezverkhyi admitted to his mother and his friends in texts messages just hours after the collision that he had "left the scene of a traffic accident drunk."
Texts sent in Russian in the aftermath of the crash were translated into English and presented as evidence to the jury. The texts were translated by translator Liudmilla Ladchenko.
In one text the accused said: "It is not funny to me. I will be jailed. Left the scene of a traffic accident. They will take me in now. They will come and get me."
One friend asked if Bezverkhyi had hit anyone. He replied: "I did." He asked another person for guidance via a text message.
"I got into a car accident. Advise me what to do. I am in the wrong 100%. I drove off. I was drunk. There is no excuse for me. I am guilty of all."
He said via text that he was "blaming" himself and when asked by a friend why he had not gone to the police he replied, "because I am not sober."
Bezverkhyi also exchanged text messages with his mother in which he said that he would hand himself in the following day.
His mother told him to put a "remnant of soap" in his pocket when he handed himself in to police.
In one of the texts, Bezverkhyi said that he had "left the scene of accident. Was pissed. Nevertheless, need to surrender to the garbage. I don't see any other way out. I think this is the most correct option."
The trial also heard evidence from Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster, who told the jury that Mr Palmer was around 300 to 500 metres from his home when the collision occurred.
Dr Bolster said that Mr Palmer suffered a traumatic brain injury which included bleeding to his brain and breeding to the membrane under his brain.
She said that he also sustained a traumatic axonal injury. This is a tearing of the brain’s long connecting nerve fibres which occurs when the brain is injured.
Dr Bolster indicated that the cause of death was "traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries with thoracic injuries due to a road traffic collision."
The State’s case was that Bezverkhyi came to a stop sign and went through it, just as Mr Palmer’s car was coming to the crossroads, causing it to spin and collide with the embankment, causing his death.
Mr Palmer was survived by his wife Colette, his daughters Claire and Emily, his three brothers, extended family and friends.
He was an uncle of Claudine Keane, who is the wife of former Ireland international football player Robbie Keane.
