People travelling to visit a dying family member were hit by a drunk driver in Louth

Two people who were travelling to visit a dying family member when their car was hit by a drunk driver, who collided with a total of three cars, had to listen to him abuse them and hospital staff in the Emergency Department they were taken to, where he claimed his barrister “would get him out of trouble”.

​Conor McKinley (45) of Blackberry Way, Dublin Road, Dundalk pleaded guilty to endangerment at Moorestown, Dromiskin on October 18th 2022 and also admitted dangerous driving and failing to offer assistance to the woman and her father.

The defendant, who was driving a Mercedes, struck the first car as it was turning into a drive way.

The woman injured in that collision, told gardaí he was "driving like a lunatic" and didn't even slow down after the impact.

Shortly up the road, another woman who was driving her dad to hospital where her maternal grandfather was dying, saw the accused coming towards them 'like a train'.

He drove straight into them, sending the car spinning six times before it hit a wall 100 metres away.

A third victim, was travelling in the opposite direction, saw the Mercedes come around a bend on the wrong side of the road sideways - with smoke coming from the wheels.

It hit the verge, over corrected and collided with the back of the second vehicle before hitting the third car, taking off the back axle.

Conor McKinley attempted to flee the scene and was found heavily intoxicated lying on the ground of a shed nearby.

In his victim impact statement which was read to the court on his behalf, the father said he has been left with a scar on his forehead as a permanent and visible reminder of the crash and he told how he and his daughter had to endure the defendant boasting that his barrister was going to get him out of trouble.

He added that as a lorry driver, it had impacted on his ability to work professionally and described how difficult it was to see the impact the collision had on his daughter saying "watching her become a shell of herself has been devastating”.

His daughter, who read her statement to the court from the witness box, said "we truly believed were were going to die" and was trapped for two and a half hours before being freed by fire and rescue personnel.

She added the trauma continued in hospital where she was forced to listen to McKinley shout abuse at them and staff in the E.D and said they had been robbed of the chance to be with her grandfather in his final moments.

She outlined how she had sustained serious injuries to her neck, back and knee and said "I'm not the same person that I was".

She lives every day with physical pain, psychological trauma and the financial consequences of what happened. The woman added the defendant's continued lack of cooperation had prolonged her suffering and outlined how because of this her insurance had refused to pay out.

A probation officer who prepared a report in February expressed concern that the defendant was downplaying his use of alcohol and minimising his own behaviour.

He was assessed at being at high risk of reoffending given his alcohol and substance misuse and anti-social associates.

The defendant was described as having little insight or remorse and was lacking in empathy for the victims.

The Defence barrister said the father of three was suffering from addiction issues at the time - particularly alcohol.

He received treatment in a private clinic in Smarmore, Ardee for four weeks in 2023, and had also tried Alcoholics Anonymous and an anti-alcohol prescription drug but had relapsed last December.

The lawyer said he had been asked to extend his client's apology to the father and daughter and added albeit it belatedly, his client was finally owing up and was facing his problem with alcohol.

The court heard he was a voluntary admission to St Patrick's Mental Health Services and was "out today to deal with this matter".

He had been abusing benzodiazapine tablets and misusing cannabis. The barrister stressed that Mr McKinley had been sober until last Christmas and is in the process of detoxing from benzodiazapine, which the court heard is a slow process.

The counsel argued his client has demonstrated a change in attitude towards his offending behaviour and his need for treatment.

Judge Dara Hayes noted the Probation Service is prepared to supervise the defendant should the court request that and was recommending a 12 week residential programme.

He said the offending happened against a background of the defendant being substantially above the drink driving limit and it was highly aggravating that he kept going rather than stopping after the first impact, which resulted in the second more serious collision.

The judge acknowledged Mr McKinley has begun to take steps in regard to his rehabilitation and the remorse expressed in court on his behalf "albeit somewhat late in coming"

Judge Hayes imposed a sentence of four years and nine months for the endangerment charge, with the final 18 months suspended and six month concurrent sentences for the three other charges, along with an eight year driving ban.