Boy (15) convicted of dangerous driving causing death of two teens in Co Galway

Judge Brian O’Callaghan was speaking at Galway circuit court at the sentencing hearing of a 15-year-old boy, who pleaded guilty to two counts of dangerous driving causing death.

Kirsty Bohan (14) and Lukas Joyce (14), both died following the single vehicle collision that occurred at Glennagarraun, Headford in the early hours of Easter Monday, April 10, 2023.

The boy also pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm to a teenage girl arising out of the same incident.

He further admitted charges of driving without insurance and the use of a mechanically propelled vehicle without the consent of its owner, Christy Bohan.

After hearing evidence in the case, Judge O’Callaghan said a detention order would not be appropriate.

He made an order binding the boy to the peace, under section 98 of the Children’s Act.

The court heard the crash occurred around 5.40am , when the Volkswagen Passat driven by the then 13 year old boy, crashed into a tree just after a bend on the L6127, a minor, country road.

Lukas Joyce, a front seat passenger, died at the scene and Kirsty Bohan was pronounced dead a short time later at university hospital Galway,

A now 15-year-old girl, who survived the crash, suffered what was described in court as extensive injuries.

She was present in court for the hearing as were the families Lukas Joyce and Kirsty Bohan.

The accused was accompanied in court by his family.

Garda Donal Hallinan told prosecuting counsel, Conall MacCarthy BL, that no alcohol and drugs were present in the driver.

The court heard the four people in the car had been eating ice-cream and making TikTok videos at the home of Kirsty Bohan just prior to fatal crash.

Gda Hallinan said that at the time of collison, it was dark, conditions were described as wet and there were showers in the vicinity of the scene.

A report by a forensic collision investigator indicates the ground speed at impact was 44 miles per hour, that being more likely if braking had occurred.

Gda Hallinan said the vehicle left the carriageway approximately 16 metres from the point of impact and mounted a low ditch and became airborne for 8.5 metres.

The Garda said it had been calculated that the vehicle had a launch speed of approximately 96km/h.

A garda investigation determined that the four people in the car had arranged via SnapChat to go out on the night.

Gda Hallinan told the court that phone messages indicated that Kirsty Bohan waited for her Dad to leave for work before driving the Volkswagen Passat to meet the others.

The court was told that the girl who survived the crash was the only member of the group who did not drive the car on the morning in question.

The court heard the now 15-year-old boy, who was driving just prior to the collision, cooperated fully with gardaí.

Of the moments prior to the crash, the boy later told gardaí, “I don’t know what it was. I was turning the corner. The car just went. I couldn’t stop it”.

The court also heard details of the lives of Kirsty Bohan and Lukas Joyce.

Gda Hallinan said Kirsty was a second year student at Presentation College, Headford and lived with her parents and two sisters.

She played camogie with her local GAA club and had a big interest in sport and art and had a love for fashion.

Lukas Joyce, the court heard, was also a second year student in Presentation College Headford, and loved playing darts, soccer and GAA.

He worked with his father, Joe, on the farm and loved basketball because it was the national sport of Lithuania, where his mother is from.

In an emotional victim impact statement, Joe Joyce, recalled that his son wanted to be a mechanical engineer and was doing well at school.

Mr Joyce continued, “The morning that I got the phonecall that he passed away. I couldn’t believe it…..That week was very hard. It was very hard that night without him at home”.

Mr Joyce said he was upset that members of the media called to his house 24 hours after Lukas’ death and that he never gave permission for the use of his son’s photo.

Mr Joyce added, “We’ll never forget him. He is always in our hearts and alway in our thoughts….We’ll miss you. We’ll never get you back”.

In her victim impact statement, read in court by Gda Hallinan, the 15-year-old girl, stated that the impact the crash has had on her is “too big to explain”.

She stated, “I miss Kirsty and Lucas so much. That night, we made the biggest mistake in going out. None of us meant for anyone to get hurt. Kirsty and Lucas lost their lives.

“So many people’s lives have been destroyed as a result of us going out that night. I live with the consequences of that night every day”.

Gda Hallinan agreed with defence barrister Michael F Collins SC (instructed by solicitor Evan O’Dwyer), that the group were engaged in “quite innocent fun” in the hour leading up to the fatal crash.

The garda also agreed that the accused has no previous convictions and “at all times” wanted to face up and accept responsibility for what happened.

Mr Collins said it was his impression from the evidence that the crash resulted from “driver error” with the car being driven at a speed “that was too much for the bend”.

Counsel said his client did not bring the car but he did drive the car and “participated in a teenage escapade that involved different drivers at different times”.

He continued, “It is significant in my submission that this escapade had a certain innocence to it.

“When they got to Kirsty’s house, they ate ice-creams. They played a TikTok video. They were messing with a chair.

“As garda Hallinan agreed, these are good kids. These are innocent children who were not involved in drink and drugs or anything like that.

“They were not out to be a menace or a scourge to society. They were not involved in boy-racing or reckless driving or anything like that”.

“The consequences of this case are hard to grapple with”, he added.

Mr Collins asked the court to note the requirements of the Children’s Act when it comes to sentencing minors, his client’s young age at the time and how he acted in the aftermath.

He said a probation report confirms the boy’s remorse and regret and how his “life has changed forever”.

Mr Collins said his client has always been diagnosed with PTSD.

“The sentence in my respectful submission, should take the least restrictive form that is appropriate in the circumstances”, he added.

In sentencing Judge O’Callaghan said the harm done is so “tragic and specific”

He continued, “One must also look at the accused’s moral culpability. It is clear that his actions and his driving are much less culpable than the consequences that flowed there from”.

He said he had listened to the evidence, to Mr Collins’s submissions and read the “very detailed” and “helpful” probation report.

“This case is quite simply every parent’s worst nightmare” he added.

Judge O’Callaghan told the families present that “no parent should feel in anyway guilty about what happened. There are enough to victims in this case”.

He noted the accused’s young age, good record and the fact there was no issue with drink or drugs.

The boy, in the company of his mother, entered into a bond to keep the peace.