14 hours ago
Tears in court as teen pleads guilty to dangerous driving causing death of girl
A young man has appeared in court over a fatal road accident in Baltinglass, Co Wicklow last year in which a 15-year-old girl was killed.
The 18-year-old from west Wicklow, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, pleaded guilty at a sitting of Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court to a charge of dangerous driving causing death.
The offence occurred at Slaney Park, Baltinglass, Co Wicklow on May 5, 2024.
Molly Dempsey, 15, from Whitehall Park, Baltinglass, Co Wicklow, who was a passenger in the car driven by the accused, suffered fatal injuries in the single-vehicle collision.
The driver, who was uninjured in the incident, was arrested at the scene of the crash by Gardaí.
The defendant, who was accompanied to court by his father, also pleaded guilty to two related charges of driving without insurance and driving without a driving licence.
There were emotional scenes in the courtroom as members of the victim's family wept openly as the charges were read out by the court registrar.
Judge Terence O'Sullivan noted that the accused had entered an early guilty plea to the charges.
He remanded the young man on continuing bail and directed that a probation report be prepared for the case.
Counsel for the DPP, James Kelly BL, also applied for a victim impact statement to be provided by a member of the deceased's family.
The judge adjourned the case until early October to fix a date for a sentencing hearing.
Molly, the youngest of nine children in her family, was a student at Scoil Chonglais in Baltinglass.
Her death was the third tragedy to strike her family as her parents, Nigel and Mary, also previously suffered the deaths of two of their sons – Roy in 2007 aged 13 and Killian in 2016 aged 16.
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