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Mum says no consequences will 'be enough' for truck driver who caused death of son
'There is no comeback from this,' she said. 'A mother to lose a child is not a natural thing, I will never get to hug or kiss him, never get to chat again.'
A truck driver has been sentenced to five years for dangerous driving causing the death of a much-loved young Connemara man.
Shaun Curran (32) of Middle Dore, Bunbeg, Co Donegal, lost control of his truck following a tyre blowout and crossed directly into the path Rian Sheridan (24), Cluainluáin, Renvyle, Co Galway.
The fatal collision happened at Newtown, on the main Athlone to Roscommon road about 10pm on March 27, 2024.
Roscommon Circuit Court was told Mr Curran knowingly drove with a wholly defective threadbare trye that was evidently blistered.
Mr Curran was driving a Scania Tractor lorry with a fully laden trailer filled with alcohol for more than 15 hours when he lost control and drove head on at speed into Rian Sheridan's Audi A5.
Judge Kenneth Connolly found Mr Sheridan, who was on his way home from football training, was 'blameless for the collision and made every attempt to avoid the oncoming lorry'.
CCTV footage also showed that Curran had checked the tyre twice on the date of the incident and had researched the price of a new tyre.
A forensic collision report found that the excessive wear of the tyre could be due only to the vehicle's steering geometry being misaligned and this would have been noticeable to the driver through irregular/pulsating feedback on the steering wheel.
Rian Sheridan
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Judge Connolly said the court found it 'repugnant' that Curran to this day was maintaining he had been unaware the tyre was in a dangerously defective and unroadworthy condition.
The court was also told that Curran had travelled 814km on the day, had not taken proper breaks and had four speeding infringements.
Curran also misused the tachograph on the lorry to 'wilfully' evade his regulated driving hours. When the collision occurred, he had been driving for more than 15 hours.
Judge Connolly said the use of another driver's tachograph card was particularly aggravating because it showed a 'pre-determined and pre-meditated express plan to flout road traffic law'.
Garda Sergeant Ronan O'Meara told the court that Curran was speeding just before the crash, travelling at 93kmh.
The standard speed limit for HGVs is 80kmh on all roads except motorways, where it is 90kmh.
The hearing was also told Curran had made admissions around breaches of tachograph data, which records a driver's activity, including driving time, rest periods and vehicle speed and distance.
Curran had used another driver's tachograph card on the day of the crash and that card was in the truck at the time of the crash.
In her victim impact statement, Maria Sheridan, the mother of Rian Sheridan, told the court that her son had 'lost his life in unnecessary and violent circumstances.
"There is no comeback from this' she said. 'A mother to lose a child is not a natural thing, I will never get to hug or kiss him, never get to chat again.'
Addressing Curran directly she said: 'Whatever the consequences you face that will never be enough. Rian had one precious life ahead of him and me and my family will never be the same again.'
Finian Sheridan, Rian's father, said he could not have asked for a better son, adding that part of him died that night with Rian.
He said that what happened was not an accident but the result of an "irresponsible and inconsiderate decision". He said his son had lost his life 'in circumstances which were avoidable".
"Society should not accept that. It is totally unacceptable that as a driver he put other road users at risk when he shouldn't have'.
Rian's sister, Ciara, said her family adored their little brother and, since he died, have been living their worst nightmare.
His sister, Doireann, said that Rian was a gift to the family and his loss was felt deeply by everyone.
Another sister, Aebhín, said that Rian was one of the "kindest, most positive people" she knew, and it breaks her heart to think about the future stolen from him.
His partner, Aine Griffin, said the pair had met at the Fleadh Cheoil in Sligo in 2015 and shared a love for music. She spoke about their plans to travel, before settling down and having a family.
"He was my morning, noon and night," she said.
She recalled the day of the crash and said she spoke to Rian on the phone, because she was in Dublin and he was on his way to football training at Kilbride GAA.
She spoke of the panic she felt when she received an automatic SOS text from Mr Sheridan's phone and thought he had come across a crash, but she said when she tried to call him, there was no answer.
'That was the worst night of my life,' she said.
In mitigation, Judge Connolly said Curran who had a "fledgling business" with three trucks on the road, all of which he had been repaying loans for, had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.
He had co-operated with gardaí at the scene and alerted them to dashcam footage from the truck and had made admissions around the misuse of the tachograph.
The court was told he expressed remorse about what had happened, and an apology was read to the court in which he said he took full responsibility.
Judge Connolly said Curran had high moral turpitude and set a headline sentence of five years. Owing to his guilty plea and mitigating factors he suspended the final 12 months.
Speaking outside court, Ms Sheridan thanked the meticulous and professional garda investigation.
She said the past 15 months had been the 'saddest and loneliest time in the lives of our family'.
She said their only son's death was 'completely avoidable'.
'Had the owner/driver of the articulated truck, Shaun Curran, followed safe driving behaviour and acted responsibly as a road user, Rian would be still alive.
'The consequences of his actions changed our lives forever and devastated our family.'
