Teenage girls died ‘holding hands' in school ball car crash
Two teenage girls were laid next to each other 'holding hands' after they died in a car crash on their way to their school-leavers' ball, a court has heard.
Kiea McCann, 17, and Dlava Mohamed, 16, died after the car they were travelling in crashed into a tree in County Monaghan, Ireland, on July 31 2023.
Anthony McGinn, 61, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, which led to the girls' deaths.
He also pleaded guilty to causing serious bodily harm to Auin Mohamed, Dlava's sister, who was also in the car but survived the incident with severe injuries.
McGinn was put in a 'position of trust' but ignored the girls' pleas for him to 'slow down' as he raced at nearly double the speed limit in a 50mph zone, Monaghan Circuit Court was told.
His white BMW then veered off course and smashed into a tree at around 75mph in the Legnakelly area, killing Kiea and Dlava, who were best friends.
'Everything went black'
Oisin Clerkin, who was sitting in the front seat, said he urged McGinn to slow down but he did not respond, the court heard.
'He was driving really fast and it scared me. None of the girls said anything. Kiea looked scared. I said 'Goodbye' to Kiea and I woke up in hospital,' Mr Clerkin told the Gardaí (the Republic of Ireland's police force) in a statement.
Family and friends of the two girls were shown footage of the moments after the crash when McGinn was arrested.
He admitted that he had 'no answer' for his actions and said he did not know what speed he had reached.
After the footage was played, Kiea's father shouted at McGinn in court.
Kiea's mother, Teresa, told the court how she had 'trusted' McGinn to take her child to the ball.
'When we got to the scene, Kiera was already gone. Her dad tried CPR on her. Nothing would bring her back,' she told the court.
'Kiea and her best friend were robbed of their lives. They were put side by side holding hands on the grass as me and my husband lay beside them.'
Ms McCann then revealed that her daughter's 18th birthday present was her headstone.
Frankie, Kiea's father, described his daughter as a 'gift from God' and described the tragedy as a 'death sentence' for their family.
Dlava's father, who migrated to Ireland from war-torn Syria, said his daughter's dreams had died with her and said he wanted 'justice, not revenge'.
Recalling the crash, Dlava's sister Alva said she had told McGinn to 'stop' before 'everything went black'.
McGinn was seriously injured in the incident and had shown remorse by apologising to the victims' families, Breffni Gordon, his defence lawyer, told the court.
He also lost his job, income and his relationship with his wife and children.
Sentencing will take place on May 14.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
43 minutes ago
- BBC News
Lagonda classic car passenger injured in crash near Hereford
A man who was a passenger in an open-top classic car has been taken to hospital with serious injuries after a said a Lagonda and a Volvo S60 were involved in a collision on the A465 main road from Hereford to Wales, at Lock's Garage junction at about 17:10 BST on man, who is in his 70s, was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital with serious injuries, officers said, in an appeal for witnesses and dashcam is a British luxury car brand that dates back to the early 20th Century and merged with Aston Martin in the 1940s. The brand went through several models and was famous for its angular-styled 1976 Series 2. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Book dealer cleared of selling stolen 'extraordinarily rare' €2,000 Heaney editions
A book dealer who claimed he bought two missing and "extraordinarily rare" Seamus Heaney first editions worth €2,000 at a bric-a-brac stall has walked free from court. Alan Ladak (70), of Fahy Gardens, Loughrea, Co Galway, admitted he was reckless in buying the books for about €40 each, hoping to sell them for a profit. Advertisement However, he pleaded not guilty at Dublin District Court to possessing stolen property, two books by the Nobel Prize-winning Derry poet, The Tollund Man, worth €1,250 and Shivers valued at €750 last year. The books previously disappeared from Kenny's Books in Galway. However, they were located after Mr Ladak later went to sell them to the Temple Bar Bookshop in Dublin between May 1st and June 30th and on October 6th, 2024. Granting a dismissal, Judge Adrian Harris accepted legal submissions from defence counsel Aoife Mutch, which focused on the lack of evidence presented in court, as the two books, after being returned, were re-sold before the trial. Advertisement Garda Alan Cawley questioned Mr Ladak, originally from England, who brought Shivers to the Temple Bar Bookshop on October 6th and returned four days later to complete the sale. During the interview, Mr Ladak maintained that he had previously sold WB Yeats and Samuel Beckett books three or four times to the shop. His statement recorded that he was offered €200 for Shivers on October 6th. In his interview, he recalled selling The Tollund Man for €250 from May to June, the court heard. However, the pensioner maintained that he bought each edition for about €40 from an anonymous bric-a-brac stall in the centre of Galway city. Advertisement He denied knowing they were stolen, but he agreed he had been reckless and was not diligent in establishing where the books came from, the court heard. Mr Ladak admitted in his interview, "I thought they were cheap at the time, and I hoped to make money," but explained that it was difficult to say what they were worth, and he hoped to make €200 for each edition. Asked why he came to Dublin to sell them, he told the Garda that he had free travel, and it was a day out, and there were more shops there. He thought it had been about 10 years since he had gone to Kenny's Bookshop, which had moved to a new location. Advertisement In cross-examination, Ms Mutch questioned the Garda about whether he had made enquiries in Galway into the unnamed bric-a-brac stall mentioned by her client. He replied that he did not because Mr Ladak did not have a receipt, and he did not think he could find the stall. The stolen books had since been returned to Kenny's Bookshop and were sold. The Garda agreed he did not have the actual originals in court. Advertisement The second witness, Tomás Kenny, of Kenny's Bookshop, said the store was the country's biggest dealer of rare books. He recalled being contacted by Temple Bar books about the edition Mr Ladak had brought into them. Mr Kenny said only 125 copies were printed. 'Extraordinarily rare' He described that edition as "extraordinarily rare", having been signed to poet Gerard Fanning, and he added that publisher Peter Fallon had autographed the other book. They had previously gone missing from his bookstore. Ireland 50th anniversary of Seamus Heaney's landmark colle... Read More In defence submission, the defence barrister highlighted the use of hearsay evidence in the running of the prosecution case, which, she argued, affected her client's right to a fair trial. She stressed that the books had not been brought to the hearing and seemed to now be in other people's hands, and the photocopy images of the books, tendered as evidence, did not show the inscriptions described by Mr Kenny. Judge Harris accepted the points raised by the barrister and acquitted Mr Ladak, who was not required to testify during the hearing. He was also found not guilty of unlawful possession of a knife he had on the date of his arrest.
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Man and woman die in crash on A18 in North Lincolnshire
A man and woman have died in a car crash on the A18 in North Lincolnshire.A silver Ford Fusion was travelling eastbound towards Melton Ross when it was believed to have been in a collision with a blue Saab at about 17:45 BST on driver and passenger of the Ford, an 86-year-old man and 72-year-old woman, died at the driver and passenger of the Saab were taken to hospital with serious injuries. The families have been informed and are being have asked anyone who may have witnessed the collision or have any dashcam or CCTV footage of the incident to get in to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
