A 46-year-old former model who pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of a mother of two had consumed 12 alcoholic drinks, which included cocktails, prosecco, wine and gin, in the hours before the crash.
Jennifer Thomas of Oakfield View, Glanmire, Co Cork, appeared before Cork Circuit Criminal Court having pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of Sheila Dunne on 11 February 2023.
Ms Dunne, 50, who was described by her daughter as a "an amazing woman - worth her weight in gold" died following a single vehicle crash in Sarsfield Court in Glanmire in Cork, last February. Her husband Ted had died due to Covid-19 in February 2021.
Ms Dunne, a special needs assistant, was just 1.5km from her home in Glanmire when the crash occurred.
Defence counsel Tom Creed told Judge Helen Boyle that "unfounded social media rumours" and inaccurate newspaper reports had circulated in the wake of the crash. He said that "malicious rumours" had spread in Cork that the body of Ms Dunne had been moved in the vehicle.
Investigating Garda Detective Mark Durcan confirmed that there was no truth to any suggestions that Thomas or any other person had moved Ms Dunne's body following the crash.
Det Gda Durcan said that the crash occurred at 7.30pm on 11 February 2023 at Sarsfield Court.
Thomas had been socialising with Ms Dunne, her friend of over 20 years, from lunchtime that day when they went for a meal at a restaurant in Douglas in the city. They went to a bar in Blackrock in Cork and then on to a bar in Glanmire prior to getting into Thomas's jeep.
Det Gda Durcan said that in the minutes before the crash, Thomas fell asleep at the wheel twice while stopped at traffic lights. On one occasion, a passer-by observed that Thomas was asleep and knocked on the window of the jeep telling her to park up.
Instead, she did two U-turns in a matter of minutes and drove on the wrong side of the road at Hazelwood Road in Glanmire. She knocked down traffic cones as she drove towards Sallybrook and narrowly missed knocking down two pedestrians on the footpath.
Det Gda Durcan said Thomas took a left hand bend at Sarsfield Court in Glanmire and failed to straighten up entering a grass verge. The Bluetooth system in the car automatically called the emergency services. Speed was not a factor in the case.
He said Thomas was wearing her seatbelt when the collision occurred. However, Ms Dunne was not.
He indicated that the impact of the collision led Ms Dunne, who was in the front passenger seat, to fall on top of Thomas. Det Gda Durcan said that the roof had to be cut off the vehicle in order to extricate the women.
He stated that when gardaí arrived at the scene, Thomas was asked who was driving. She said that she was and then she "got erratic" and was unable to give a definitive answer.
She then said that Ms Dunne was driving as she had "more control".
When she was shown CCTV at a later date by gardaí, Thomas accepted that she was driving. She also said she had no recollection of the collision due to concussion. However, there was no medical evidence of concussion.
Ms Dunne died in hospital two days after the crash.
Her daughter, Lilley Dunne, said in her victim impact statement that she came to court with a "shattered heart" weighed down heavily by the loss of her "rock of a mother".
'Reckless decision made by a selfish individual'
She said she would forever miss her precious mother whom she described as a "pillar" in the community and said she was speaking on behalf of herself and her younger brother.
"I stand before you today as his voice and to outline the devastation we have both endured. I want to try and express as vividly as I can how this tragic event has destroyed my life, my brother’s world and our family unit as we know it," she added.
She said that she and her brother had already suffered the "unbearable" loss of their father, Ted.
"Now to experience the agonising loss of mom, feels like a cruel twist of fate that I cannot comprehend.
"This experience is what I can only describe as hell. My beautiful mom was taken from us far too soon at the young age of 50. In a car crash caused by a reckless decision made by a selfish individual. This choice has altered our lives forever," Ms Dunne added.
Ms Dunne said that Thomas's absence of remorse had made the "grieving process so much more challenging."
"It is incredibly painful to know that someone withholds the truth in such a devastating way and it makes it harder to heal from this loss," she added.
Sheila Dunne’s mother Esther O'Brien said that she was "heartbroken" to have lost her daughter to a drunk driver.
"This loss has not only shattered my life but has also left two precious grandchildren without their mother. My daughter was my biggest support. She was always there for me, providing love, care and companionship. We shared a deep bond, and she was my confidante, my source of strength," she added.
The court heard that Thomas had ten previous convictions for road traffic offences, larceny and misuse of drugs.
Defence barrister Tom Creed said that his client's previous convictions for larceny and misuse of drugs occurred when she was a teenager.
He added that Thomas was hugely remorseful for her actions. Mr Creed said that his client accepted that getting behind the wheel drunk was an "outrageous" thing to do.
Judge Boyle offered her sincere condolences to Ms Dunne's family and said they had painted a "wonderful picture" of her.
Judge Boyle reserved her decision in the case. Sentencing will take place on Thursday and Thomas was remanded.
Meanwhile, other charges faced by Thomas, including one count of drink driving and three counts of dangerous driving, will remain at the district court as they are deemed to be summary charges.
