Expected snow delays fatal Athy crash case

The trial of Dayna Kearney which was due to start this week has been postponed once again after a Circuit Court judge expressed concerns that dire weather which is forecast over the coming days could see the trial being suspended.

Judge Michael O’Shea was told that the case would take three or four days. Ms Kearney, with an address listed at Crossneen in Carlow, faces allegations of dangerous driving causing death. 

A Volkswagen Polo, driven by Ms Kearney, collided with a van on the N78 Athy Link Road at Burtown on January 6, 2015. The accident left Ms Kearney fighting for her life following the head-on collision. Athy resident Aisling Middleton (19) and Carlow natives Niamh Doyle (19), Chermaine Carroll (20) and Gemma Nolan (19) all died as a result of the accident. Ms Kearney is also charged with driving a defective vehicle at the time of the accident.

Counsel for the Prosecution proposed that the case be adjourned to next Tuesday, but Ms Kearney’s solicitor Frank Taaffe told the court that he would be away for the next number of weeks. “I’ve been managing this defence for the past three years,” Mr Taaffe said. 

The case has been adjourned in the past, most recently as a result of a missing Garda witness.

Judge O’Shea agreed to the adjournment, noting “it’s nobody’s fault. That’s the way things happen”. He, and both the prosecution and defence lawyers expressed concern for the families of the young women who died in the crash, and the toll the court process took on them.

The case was adjourned to June 19.

Read more: Dayna Kearney circuit court trial in connection with Athy fatal crash adjourned