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The teenage driver who admitted dangerous driving causing the death of 16-year-old Kimberly O’Connor in Cork a year ago was sentenced today to four years in detention.
Daniel Wyse, 17, of 21 Killiney Heights, Knocknaheeny, Cork, pleaded guilty to that fatal crime and seriously injured a teenager who was also in the car when it crashed in a residential area on the city’s north side. Cork on February 19. year.
Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin imposed an eight-year sentence with the last four years suspended in Cork Circuit Criminal Court.
The judge said Kimberly O’Connor was an energetic, enthusiastic and idealistic teenager who lost her life when the car Daniel Wyse was driving crashed into a pillar in Knocknaheeny.
Judge Ó Donnabháin accepted that the defendant had expressed remorse today, but said this was undermined by the fact that he fled the scene after the accident and did not surrender to gardaí for weeks if not months later.
Kimberly O’Connor was the front passenger when the car crashed near her home in Cork. Her mother, Jennifer Haynes, said she was haunted by the sound of the crash she heard at home and that she would never forget.
The 17-year-old defendant could not be named earlier because he is a minor. However, this ban was lifted today in the public interest by the judge. He disqualified Wyse from driving for 15 years and said it was a matter of public concern for anyone who might see him driving in the future to report him.
The deceased could not be previously named due to an interpretation of the Court of Appeals of the Juvenile Law. However, Judge Ó Donnabháin also lifted that disqualification, saying that Kimberly’s mother, Jennifer Haynes, had correctly stated that she did not want her daughter to be anonymous in covering the case. Ms. Haynes said her daughter’s name had been widely disclosed anyway before the proceedings against Daniel Wyse began.
Garda Detective Brian Holland recounted how emergency services arrived at the scene shortly before midnight, found the 16-year-old girl mortally wounded in the front seat of the badly damaged car and declared dead at the scene by a local doctor.
The 18-year-old backseat passenger had suffered serious injuries and was removed from the car after firefighters cut through the roof and took him to CUH for surgery. His injuries included a skull fracture and many other fractures.
He has regained the use of his limbs, but is working with a speech and language therapist, while also suffering from post-traumatic amnesia and having no recollection of the collision.
Det. Garda Holland said Daniel Wyse was driving at a minimum of 119 km per hour along a highway that was governed by a speed limit of 50 km / h when he crashed.
Per Oberstown video link, Daniel Wyse said he made a big decision to drive that night and it ended up costing his friend her life.
“Kimberly and her family will always be in my thoughts and prayers, may she rest in peace,” Daniel Wyse said today.
Daniel Wyse’s mother, Margaret O’Sullivan, said of her son: “I have never seen a child more sorry for this tragic accident. It was never intended to happen. I wonder if my son will ever get over this. ”
Ms. O’Sullivan said she could not imagine the pain Kimberly’s family was experiencing and expressed her family’s deepest condolences.
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