Latest news with #DlavaMohamed
Irish Times
20-05-2025
- Irish Times
Kiea McCann's parents ‘living a nightmare' since her death
The parents of Kiea McCann, one of two teenagers killed in a crash on the way to their debs ball in Monaghan in 2023, have said they are living a 'nightmare' since their daughter's death . Kiea (17) died alongside her best friend, Dlava Mohamed (16). Dlava's sister, Avin, was left with life-changing injuries after the crash. Last week, Anthony McGinn (61) pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and serious injury. He was driving 151km/h in an 80km/h zone when his car struck a tree near Legnakelly on July 31st, 2023. He was jailed for seven years . Speaking on RTÉ's Prime Time on Tuesday, Frankie and Teresa McCann recalled the night of the crash. READ MORE Mr McCann described arriving at the scene, saying he moved from Kiea to Dlava trying to revive them. 'You were just trying, basically, to save one to get to the other,' he said. 'It wasn't that you had a choice to do it, it was something you had to do. And then you'd turn around and you'd see the mother lying with your own daughter.' When they realised the girls could not be saved, Mr McCann gave them the last rites. 'You kind of hope, if there is something after life, they would know that you were with them. They'd know that they were loved, because my daughter knew she was loved.' Mr McCann said he has struggled to move forward following his daughter's death and has tried to take his own life. 'You remember the day she was born when you're the first to hold her, then you're the last to hold her,' he added. Ms McCann said: 'It's a nightmare to live with … just lying there with them and knowing that you couldn't save them.' The McCanns said Mr McGinn, a family friend whom they had known for years, should have been given a longer sentence. The court in Monaghan heard how he had ignored the 'somewhat angry pleas' of two 'frightened young passengers' – referring to Avin and another passenger, Oisín Clerkin, who sustained less serious injuries – to 'desist' from speeding. 'It's not a fair sentence. At the end of the day, he knew what he was at when he got into that car … Seven years is nothing,' Ms McCann said. Need support? Contact Samaritans by calling 116 123
BreakingNews.ie
14-05-2025
- BreakingNews.ie
Man jailed for seven years after crash which killed two teenagers
A man has been sentenced to seven years' imprisonment after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing the deaths of two teenagers. Anthony McGinn, 61, from Drumloo, Newbliss, Co Monaghan, was sentenced on Wednesday. Advertisement Kiea McCann, 17, and Dlava Mohamed, 16, died in the crash on July 31st 2023. The girls, who were being driven to their Debs ball when they died, had been close friends since Dlava's family arrived in Clones as part of a resettlement programme for Syrians. Dlava's sister Avin was also injured in the crash. Speaking after the sentencing at Monaghan Courthouse on Wednesday, Kiea's mother Teresa McCann said: 'There is no justice in this. My child's life is gone and never coming back.' Advertisement Inspector Ann Marie Lardner said gardai support the families 'in their suffering'. 'Kiea and Dlava were looking forward to celebrating their Debs on the night of the 31st of July, 2023 – they had their entire lives and bright futures in front of them. 'They were killed in a devastating road traffic collision and never came home.' Ms Lardner said gardai stand 'united in grief' with the families following the recent death of Garda Kevin Flatley, from the roads policing unit, who was struck by a high-powered motorcycle. Advertisement She said: 'Garda Kevin Flatley went to work last Sunday, an ordinary day, he never came home. 'They are just three of the 418 killed in our roads since the start of 2023. 'An Garda Siochana and all our road safety partners continuously repeat and repeat and repeat: Speeding kills. 'Kiea and Dlava were killed because of excessive speed. Kevin was on duty detecting and preventing speeding on our roads when he was killed.' Advertisement Frankie and Teresa McCann, parents of Kiea McCann, arrive at Monaghan Circuit Criminal Court. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA. She added: 'As a society, Ireland needs to reset in our collective attitude towards road safety. As a society, we need to slow down. As a society, we need to have a conversation with those who we know drive too fast, either in excess of the speed limit or too fast for the road conditions. 'The only people who can drive slower are drivers. But everybody can influence a driver. Slow down, make our roads safer. 'Get home safe to your families every day.' During the sentencing hearing, Judge John Aylmer said he was considering the charges in relation to the two deaths and the dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm to Avin to be in the same act of driving. Advertisement In handing down the sentence, Mr Aylmer said he had to consider where the offence fell on the scale of offending by examining aggravating and mitigating circumstances. He said the aggravating circumstances of the incident were that McGinn was travelling at almost twice the speed limit in an 80km/h zone, with evidence establishing he was travelling at up to 151km/h on the stretch of road. Mr Aylmer said McGinn had also 'ignored the pleas – and somewhat angry pleas – to desist from two of the frightened young passengers', referring to Avin and another passenger – Oisin Clerkin – who sustained less serious injuries in the crash. He said the road was wet which made the speeding even more dangerous. Garda Inspector Ann Marie Lardner speaks to the media outside Monaghan Circuit Criminal Court. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA. Mr Aylmer noted McGinn had been a friend of Kiea's father at the time and had 'committed an extraordinary breach of trust' which had been placed in to drive the young people to debs. He said the 'devastating impact' of his actions was the loss of life and the life-altering injuries suffered by Avin. He said the court had heard 'harrowing victim-impact statements'. Mr Aylmer said representations for McGinn had pointed out he never had any intention to injure anyone, but the judge added he had a 'very determined' intention to drive at a 'grossly excessive speed', having a 'reckless disregard' for the potential of death or serious injury to arise. He said this put the offence at the upper end of severity, but the judge said other aggravating factors, which often appear in these cases, were not present. He said there was no question of the consumption of drugs or alcohol, or that the car was in disrepair. This resulted in a headline sentence of nine years on each count, before mitigating factors reduced the sentence. In mitigation, the judge said McGinn had no previous convictions nor any other charges pending. He said the driver was fully co-operative with the investigation to the extent that he could be given his apparently genuine 'little recollection of events' having suffered very severe injuries himself. Anthony McGinn was sentenced on Wednesday. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA. McGinn spent a number of months in a coma after the crash, the court heard. The judge said he had entered a very early plea of guilty but added that was in the face of an 'overwhelming case' brought by the prosecution, considering the entire event was captured on dashcam. He said the value of the early plea is in 'sparing the families' further trauma of a trial which would have arisen. Mr Aylmer said McGinn's injuries cannot be ignored but they provide little mitigation because 'they were self imposed'. The court heard he has lost his marriage due to circumstances arising out of the tragedy and his relationship with his children has become distant. The judge also said he had received reports that McGinn displayed appropriate victim empathy and his sense of responsibility for the deaths and the injuries suffered 'weighs heavily' on him. McGinn is also considered to present a low risk of reoffending. Mr Aylmer reduced the sentence to seven years on each count, to run concurrently from Wednesday. McGinn was also disqualified from driving for a period of 15 years.
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Driver is jailed for seven years after 75mph horror crash that killed two teen best friends on their way to prom
A driver has been sentenced to seven years in prison after killing two teen best friends. Two teen best friends were laid next to each other 'holding hands' after they died in a horror 75mph crash on their way to their school leavers ball, a court was told. Kiea McCann, 17 and Dlava Mohamed, 16, died after the car they were travelling in, crashed into a tree in Legnakeely, Ireland on July 31, 2023. Anthony McGinn, 61, who was a friend of the McCann family, was put in a 'position of trust' to drive the two young girls to the Debs ball in Monaghan Town, the court heard. McGinn, of Drumloo, County Monaghan, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing their deaths as well and causing serious bodily harm to Dlava's sister, Auin Mohammed, during the same incident. At Monaghan Courthouse on Wednesday, McGinn was also disqualified from driving for a period of 15 years. Monaghan Circuit Court heard how McGinn ignored the pleas from his teen passengers to 'slow down' as he drove at nearly double the speed of a 50mph zone. His car, a white BMW then careered and collided with a tree on the N54 at around 75mph in the Legnakelly area, killing the two girls and injuring another. Kiea McCann (left), 17, and Dlava Mohamed (right), 16, died after the car they were travelling to their school leavers ball in left the N54 and crashed into a tree in the Legnakeely area on July 31 2023 It was also heard that front passenger, who was Kiea's date, Oisin Clerkin asked McGinn to 'slow down', but the driver did not respond. '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,' he told Gardai in a statement. Upsetting scenes unraveled at the sentencing as family and friends of the two girls were shown footage of their final moments where the car was involved in the horror crash. The court was told McGinn was shown dashcam footage of the horror crash after his arrest and confessed that he had 'no answer' and did not 'know what speed [he] was doing. Following this, there was an outburst from Kiea's father, Frankie, who according to the Irish Mirror said: 'If this man won't send you down. I'll never forget you, you fu**ing b**tard.' Families later read aloud their impact statements, with Kiea's mother Teresa sharing how she had 'trusted' the 61-year-old family friend to take her child to the Deb's Ball safely. 'When we got to the scene, Kiea was already gone. Her dad tried CPR on her. Nothing would bring her back,' she said. '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.' Her heartbroken mother revealed that Kiea's 18th birthday present was her headstone, as the family had been left with only memories and pictures of the teen. Kiea's father, Frankie, who tried revive the two teenagers at the scene of the crash, described his child as a 'gift from God'. At the sentencing, he spoke of his heartbreak, explaining Kiea would be able to get married or have her own family, describing her passing as a 'death sentence' for their family. Dlava's father, who had brought his family from war-scarred Syria to Ireland, said his daughter's dreams had died with her, adding that he lost a piece of all of his children on that fateful day, as well as his heart. He asserted that he wanted the most severe punishment for McGinn, adding that he wanted 'justice, not revenge'. Dlava's sister, who had experienced severe injuries in the collision, said the incident had forever changed the trajectory of her life, explaining her sister had been accompanying her to the Deb's ball. Recalling the crash, Auin said she had told McGinn to 'stop' before 'everything went black'. She told the court that she had not known the two teenagers were dead for months. Breffni Gordon, mitigating, told the court McGinn was seriously injured in the collision, and was remorseful. They also added that the driver had apologised to the victims' families and he had entered an early guilty plea. McGinn also lost his job, income as well as his relationship with his wife and children, the court was told. Sentencing is due to take place next Wednesday at May 14.
Irish Times
14-05-2025
- Irish Times
Driver in car crash that led to deaths of Monaghan teenagers jailed for seven years
Anthony McGinn (61) from Drumloo, Newbliss, Co Monaghan, has been sentenced to seven years' imprisonment after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing the deaths of two teenagers. Kiea McCann (17) and Dlava Mohamed (16) died after the car they were travelling in left the road and crashed into a tree in the Legnakeely area on July 31st 2023 while on their way to a debs ball. At Monaghan Courthouse on Wednesday, McGinn was also disqualified from driving for a period of 15 years. This is a breaking story and will be updated. -PA
News.com.au
09-05-2025
- News.com.au
Best friends died holding hands in horror crash on way to school formal
Two teenage best friends died while 'holding hands' in a horror crash on the way to their school formal after the driver ignored pleas to slow down. Kiea McCann, 17 and Dlava Mohamed, 16, were being driven to prom by 61-year-old Anthony McGinn when the tragedy unfolded. The driver had been speeding on his way to the annual school event when he lost control of his BMW and smashed into a tree at 120km/ph, The Sun reports. Both girls tragically died side-by-side following the horror collision in County Monaghan, Ireland, in July 2023. Dlava's sister Avin, who had also been travelling in the car at the time, was injured. McGinn has now pleaded guilty to causing the girls' deaths by dangerous driving and causing Avin serious bodily harm. In a heartbreaking victim impact statement, Kiea's mum Teresa told how she 'trusted' McGinn to take her daughter to the leaver's ball. She said: 'When we got to the scene, Kiea was already gone. Her dad tried CPR on her. Nothing would bring her back. '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.' Dlava's sister told how she feels guilty over the crash as she invited the teen to the dance with her. She said she did not learn about the pair's death for months due to her own injuries after 'everything went black' in the crash. Monaghan Circuit Criminal Court was told family friend McGinn had picked up the group from a pub in the town before heading to the ball. Front seat passenger Oisin Clerkin had asked McGinn to 'slow down' but the driver did not respond, The Sun reports. Oisin later told police: '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.' The court was shown harrowing footage of Kiea and Dlava's final moments before McGinn collided with the tree. He later told police he had no idea what speed he was going at before the crash. The court heard McGinn was travelling at more than 90mph (145km/ph) in a 50mph (80km/ph) zone and hit the tree at 75mph (120km/ph). This prompted Kiea's dad Frankie to yell out in court: 'I'll never forget you, you f***ing b*****d.' Breffni Gordon, defending, said McGinn had apologised to the victims' families and was remorseful. He will be sentenced on May 14.
