Community service in lieu of prison for careless driving incident causing injury

A young man from Aughamore was convicted  and sentenced to 160 hours of community service in lieu of a prison sentence  on a  careless driving charge in  2018 at  Carrick-on-Shannon Circuit Court last week.

Mark Charles Reynolds, Derrywillow, Aughamore, Carrick-on-Shannon was charged with dangerous driving reduced to careless driving at Farnaght, Mohill on September 30, 2018. Mr Reynolds pleaded guilty to the offence.

Garda Sean McGarry outlined to the court that on this date, Mr Reynolds picked up two friends and went for a drive, they were then involved in a single vehicle collision at Farnaght. 

The fire brigade and ambulance attended the scene before Gardai and the fire officers had to cut the front seat passenger out of the vehicle. 

Garda McGarry said it was a single carriageway and showed the judge that there was grass growing in  the middle of the road. 

He said the car came around a left hand bend and made contact with the ditch on the passenger side before coming to a rest at a tree. 

Mr Wayne Fig was cut out of the car and was brought to Sligo University Hospital with serious injuries. Mr Fig told gardai he felt Mark Reynolds was driving too fast, then the car went “bang” and he woke up in the car.

 Mr David Crowe, the back seat passenger told gardai he felt  Mr Reynolds came into the corner too fast and lost control, they hit a fence then a tree. He said the fence came in through the front window.

There was a medical report from Dr Karen Harris in  Sligo University Hospital. In it she stated that Mr Fig presented with neck and hip pain, a head wound and a fast heart rate. 

Scans revealed his hip had been displaced, he had a wound on his scalp which was stapled and  a fracture to his neck. During his time in hospital Mr Fig also had to have his appendix removed.

 There were also reports from 2021 where it was stated that Mr Fig still has ongoing pain in his neck and hip and walks with a limp. 

Gardai told the court Mr Fig did not want to make a victim impact statement or wish to be in the court. Garda McGarry said he understood Mr Fig had not made a full recovery and is exploring the “possibility of surgery for his hip and neck.”

Garda McGarry said the defendant was interviewed on October 29, 2019 but declined to answer anything.

 The court heard Mr Reynolds had five previous convictions including a charge of dangerous driving reduced to careless driving. He did not serve any time in prison for these  convictions.

Barrister Dara Foynes said this case had taken some time to make it to the Circuit Court and said her client was just 19 -years-old at the time, he had been driving his mother’s car.

 She added that the accident occurred at approx 9pm, but it was 11.30pm when Gardai arrived at the scene.

 She said Mr Reynolds lives close to the scene of the accident and knows the area well, she said the defendant  has been  driving with his two friends and had no destination in mind.

 She suggested he “misjudged the bend” and had been “driving too fast.”

 Mr Reynolds’ parents were present in court and Ms Foynes outlined that Mark’s mother suffers complications from diabetes and is currently on a transplant waiting list for a pancreas. 

Mark is one of the two named drivers responsible for getting his mother to hospital for the transplant “at no notice.” 

She said he is a good worker and handed in references from past and present employers. 

She noted that the Probation service said he is at a “low risk” of offending. 

She put forward that he knows he was young and stupid and is remorseful now. He also wrote a letter of apology to Mr Fig.

Judge John Aylmer stated that the defendant “drove too quickly around a bend and lost control of his parent’s vehicle. As a consequence one of his friends suffered very serious injuries.” 

He added there was no forensic examination  of the scene by gardai so there is no evidence of how excessive the speed was. 

He took into account Mr Reynolds' remorse, his young age at the time and his work references. 

Judge Aylmer found a custodial sentence to be “inappropriate.”

 He convicted Mark Charles Reynolds and ordered him to complete 160 hours of community service in lieu of 8 months in prison. 

Noting the dependence on his driver’s licence and his mother’s medical issues he did not impose a driving disqualification.