Man jailed nine years for fatal accident in Co Louth

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A 21-year-old man has been jailed for nine years for causing a fatal accident that claimed the lives of three people in Co Louth last year.

Keith Lennon, based in Forest Park, Dromintee, Co Armagh, was driving at 225 km / h and recorded the speed at which he was traveling on a Snapchat video.

The two-car collision occurred on the N1 at Carrickarnon, Ravensdale, Dundalk, Co Louth, on February 29, 2020.

Mary Faxton, 82, and her son Kevin Faxton of Bessbrook in Co Armagh, 58, were killed in the crash.

Mary Faxton and her son Kevin died in the accident

Bryan Magill, 25, of Newry in Co Down, who was a passenger in the car Lennon was driving, also died in the collision.

Bryan Magill was a passenger in Lennon’s car

Lennon had pleaded guilty to three counts of murder.

In sentencing today, Judge Martina Baxter described the collision as “horrible.” He said it was the worst case he had ever heard, with three deaths and “showing off” on social media.

Judge Baxter said that Keith Lennon had caused terrible losses and that people cannot be brought back.

He said the car had been driven at high speed and was a car with a powerful engine that Lennon later admitted was pushing hard.

Judge Baxter said the message must be spread that innocent people are regularly losing their lives as a result of gross negligence, usually by young men.

He said such driving, such distractions and such gross negligence will not be accepted.

He described Lennon as a reckless, immature and overconfident “braggart” in this high-powered vehicle. The vehicle was essentially a weapon, he added.

As a mitigation, he said he was taking into account his guilty plea that prevented a trial, had no prior convictions and was sorry.

She sentenced him to ten years in jail for each count of involuntary manslaughter, at the same time as the last 12 months suspended.

She disqualified him from driving for 20 years.

Speaking after the sentencing, Yvonne Campbell, the daughter of Mary Faxton and sister of Kevin Faxton, said that no sentence will bring her mother and brother back.

He said that his family has to live the rest of their lives with the pain and pain that this man has caused them by his reckless driving and use of a mobile phone.

He thanked the gardaí and the prosecution for their work on the case.

Francis Harte, a member of the Magill family, said they continue to live an endless nightmare.

He thanked the emergency services that came to the scene and the gardaí for their hard work on the case.

He said that Bryan was a beloved son, a loving brother, and a faithful friend to many.

“Nothing can bring Bryan back, the least he deserves is justice. He will never be forgotten,” he said.

At a sentencing hearing earlier this month, the Dundalk Circuit Court heard that Keith Lennon was uninsured at the time of the accident. None of the occupants wore seat belts.

The Snapchat videos taken by Lennon at 2:04 a.m. M. And at 2.06 a. M. They were showing the speedometer at 140 mph, the court heard.

Sergeant Freda McCague from Dundalk Garda Station told the court that the speed was the equivalent of 225 km / h, 105 km / h over the speed limit.

Lennon was not insured on the car, he had three broken tires and the MOT, or the vehicle’s certificate of validity, had expired, the court heard.

After the accident, Lennon left the scene but showed up at Dundalk Garda station the next day.

The court heard that Lennon had been driving a powerful three-liter Audi and one of the deceased, Mr. Magill, was a passenger.

Mary and Kevin Faxton in a Peugeot 108 car that was rear-ended by the Audi as both cars were traveling north on the N1 highway.

The court heard how Mary Faxton had suffered from depression and her son Kevin often took her out for a walk at night to “calm her down.”

In a victim impact statement read to court on behalf of the Faxton family, Yvonne Campbell, Mary’s daughter and Kevin’s sister, said her family is heartbroken.

“There are no words that can explain pain and pain,” he said.

Ms. Campbell said that the family’s life changed forever on February 29 of last year and that they “wish they could go back in time.”

“They stole the years that we could have spent with them and no one can take away the pain,” he said.

In her family victim impact statement, Magill’s mother said that no parent should see her son leave the house in a coffin.

He said Lennon will receive visitors in jail, but will visit his son in a cemetery.

Lennon’s mother told the court that her son understood what he had done and was “very sorry.”

He said he had supported his son when he pleaded guilty and was arrested.



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