A 57-year-old man has been sentenced to seven years in prison for dangerous driving causing the death of a Latvian lorry driver in Co Limerick four years ago.
Niall O'Halloran, of Woodfield Drive, Newcastle West, was found guilty of dangerous driving causing the death of Arturs Birznieks and driving while intoxicated in the early hours of 18 March 2022.
At Limerick Circuit Court, Judge Simon McAleese said the accused had "vocally maintained his innocence" even during today’s sentencing hearing, despite a unanimous verdict by a jury following his trial in March.
The judge said that O’Halloran’s attempts to blame the victim were "atrocious and reprehensible" and he had not shown "a single jot of remorse".
Judge McAleese said that he had taken careful regard of the "brief but tragically eloquent" victim impact statement by Ina Birznieks, which appealed to the court to take into account the full extent of the suffering that her family has endured as a result of her husband’s tragic death.
Mr Birznieks, who was living in Co Mayo, had been driving a lorry pulling a container-load of chickens on the N21 near Ardagh at the time.
O’Halloran was driving a Volkswagen Passat in the opposite direction, towards Newcastle West.
The trial heard that O’Halloran drove his car onto the wrong side of the road and into the path of Mr Birznieks’ lorry.
The court was told that Mr Birznieks tried to take "evasive action" by steering his lorry away from the oncoming car to try to avoid a collision, but the car hit the cab of the lorry which then jack-knifed and struck a wall, before coming to a halt in a field.
The 35-year-old Latvian man was killed instantly.
The trial heard that O’Halloran was probably six times over the legal limit at the time.
A blood sample taken in hospital, four hours after the fatal collision, had returned a certified reading of 179mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, indicating that he was still more than three times the legal limit.
During the sentencing hearing, Inspector Padraigh Sutton said that, when questioned by gardaí, O’Halloran claimed he had been drinking beer shandies earlier in the evening.
He was asked by gardaí if he considered a shandy an alcoholic drink, and replied: "No, at the end of the day."
The senior investigating officer said that when O’Halloran was asked if he had any feelings towards the driver who had died, he replied: "I have enough to deal with, with my own injuries."
Lilly Buckley BL, on behalf of the prosecution, told the hearing that the accused sought to maintain that Mr Birznieks was "asleep or dead" behind the wheel of his lorry when the collision occurred.
Mark Nicholas, SC, on behalf of O'Halloran said that his client had "a full appreciation of the tragedy" but maintained the position that he did not cause the crash.
Mr Birznieks’ widow did not travel from Latvia for the sentencing hearing.
"Every day is filled with pain and grief," she said in a victim impact statement read to the court.
"He was not only a beloved husband but also a caring father to our daughters. After his tragic death, our lives were changed forever."
She said their two daughters have struggled deeply with the loss of their father.
"They lost not only a parent, but also the support, protection and love that only a father can give."
In sentencing O’Halloran, Judge McAleese took into account a previous conviction for drink driving from 2011, for which he received a three-year road ban.
"That earlier conviction is in my opinion highly relevant to culpability," the judge said.
He imposed a sentence of seven years for dangerous driving causing death, and a six-month sentence for driving while under the influence of an intoxicant, to run concurrently.
The judge disqualified O'Halloran from driving for 10 years.
