The mother of a 3-year-old Clare girl, who lost her life in a road crash in 2017, has told the driver who caused the fatal collision that whatever sentence he receives, will “pale in comparison to the life sentence of pain and sorrow” given to her family.
In a heart-breaking victim impact statement delivered at Ennis Circuit Court, Amy Wall said her daughter Estlin paid the highest price.
Her father Vincent was also seriously injured in the crash, as Clare FM’s Ben Sweeney reports:
In the case, father of two, 63-year-old Senan O’Flaherty of Lower Gowerhass, Cooraclare has pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention, causing the death of Estlin Wall and serious bodily harm to Vincent Wall at Ballyea South, Inagh on March 15th, 2017.
At Ennis Circuit Court, Judge Gerald Keys said he would reserve judgement on the sentence for Mr. O’Flaherty, and counsel for the State, Lorcan Connolly asked that Judge Keys pronounce sentence before May, as Amy is expecting the couple’s third child that month.
The court heard that Estlin Wall was fatally injured in a road crash after Mr O’Flaherty, a truck driver, made “a bad move” to pull out from behind a bus at around 9am on March 15th, 2017.
Her father, Vincent Wall, who was driving her to the creche that morning suffered a severe and significant brain injury as a result of the crash, has no recollection of the accident and was placed in an induced coma after the crash.
He missed his daughter’s funeral.
In her victims impact statement, Amy said that they had lost everything and that, as a professional driver, Mr O’Flaherty should have been driving with extra care and instead a child is dead, forever.
Estlin’s father Vincent said he compares his injuries to what Estlin got, and every day is certain he’d trade places and take death if she could live.
But, he said, these are imaginary bargains and that real life can be “brutal and unforgiving.”
Counsel for Mr O’Flaherty stated that there are no aggravating factors on his client’s part – that there’s no speeding, no recklessness, no drink involved, that the consequences are profound and no sentence can turn back the clock.
Judge Keys adjourned the case to next Monday for mention only.
