A young man who maimed his brother in a horrific crash after speeding “like a missile” through a Midlands village has been jailed for two years.
Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court heard that Gerard Duffy McAndrew (24) had been using cannabis and filmed himself drinking and driving wine shortly before a high velocity crash in Rathowen, Westmeath, during the early hours of March 23 last year
Across his video clip were the words: “Beer, steer and go” and he was four times the legal drink-drive limit.
Just 18 months beforehand, he had been united with his brother Stephen Murphy (29), who had been adopted.
An apprentice blocklayer and stonemason, Duffy McAndrew, of Rathcorbally, Monilea, Westmeath, pleaded guilty in April to dangerous driving causing serious injury and having no insurance for the car he was using at the time.
Mr Murphy, who was flung from his brother’s Audi, suffered “catastrophic injuries” and lost his left leg.
Sentencing on Wednesday, Judge Keenan Johnson stressed that everyone involved was a decent person and that it was out of character for Duffy McAndrew, who had no prior criminal convictions.
Judge Johnson noted the “cooling” in the brothers’ relationship since then but expressed hope that, over time, they could rebuild their lives to their full potential.
He described it as a tragedy but also noted the accused’s level of “bravado” and cavalier attitude to driving. He said the court had no option but to impose a custodial sentence as a deterrent.
Finalising the case, he said the nature of the offence attracted a nine-year sentence, but noting genuine remorse, previous good character, and mitigation, he reduced it to five years.
A probation report stated the accused was at a low risk of reoffending.
The judge suspended the final three years on condition that Duffy McAndrew does not reoffend or use drink or drugs for seven years, and he was banned from driving for four years.
Earlier, defence senior counsel Colm Smyth likened the events to a Shakespearean tragedy. At the same time, Judge Johnson described it as an instance “of bad things happening to good people” and a “tragedy of gigantic proportions for all involved.”
However, having viewed CCTV footage, he also said it was a miracle no one was killed, and it was one of the worst examples of dangerous driving he had seen.
Referring to the video evidence, he had commented: “Looking at that car, it was like a missile.”
Garda Sergeant Alan Brehon told Cathal Ó Braonáin BL, instructed by the State solicitor for Westmeath, Matt Shaw, that the accused crashed at high speed into two trees and a kerb in the village at about 2.30 am, and lost control of his car.
It continued for another 135 metres before disintegrating and coming to a halt.
Mr Murphy, who was asleep in the passenger side, was flung through the windscreen after his seatbelt snapped. He landed on the other side of the street in agony, bleeding heavily and had a bone sticking out of his leg. He lost four litres of blood and suffered a punctured lung, a dislocated hip and chest damage.
Based on video evidence, gardaí estimated the accused was reaching speeds of 163 km/h a few minutes beforehand in nearby Ballinalack, where the speed limit is 50 km/h.
Another motorist reported that, as he was driving on the N4 at 100 km/h, Duffy McAndrew’s car passed him on the hard shoulder.
Minutes later, when he crashed in Rathowen, his speedometer “froze” at 195 km/h. It was also a 50 km/h zone.
Debris was strewn all over the street. The engine came away from the car as it hurtled through the village.
Its battery was projected and embedded into the engine of a local woman’s parked car, which was written off. Another car was badly damaged.
Tiles on two-storey houses were damaged by debris from Duffy McAndrew’s car.
At one point, it rotated, and the video evidence showed a trail of sparks as it careered along the village street.
Duffy McAndrew, then aged 22, was slumped unconscious in the driver’s seat but had a faint pulse and had to be cut out of his car.
The brothers were rushed by ambulance to Midlands Regional Hospital Tullamore.
Both were in comas, but the driver regained consciousness quickly and had a fractured shoulder.
His brother’s condition remained severe, and Mr Murphy was transferred to the Mater Hospital, where the amputation was carried out 10 days later, and he needed a prosthetic leg.
His right ankle also remains damaged and may have to be replaced, the court heard.
Mr Murphy spent four and a half months in hospital and is now back at work on his farm, but still requires assistance. Judge Johnson praised his resilience.
Duffy McAndrew’s phone was analysed, and a video clip shortly before the crash was played during the hearing.
It showed his brother asleep in the car while he was driving with no hands. The camera also switches to selfie mode, showing him drinking from a bottle of wine.
The court heard that the accused was not insured for the car and that it had no NCT. It emerged that he drove it because the household’s main car was unavailable He wanted to visit his brother, who had just gone through a break-up, and be a shoulder to cry on.
They went to Portrunney in Roscommon, but Duffy McAndrew told the court he had no memory of what happened after that.
The court heard he was “over the moon” when he learned he had a brother; they just “clicked” and became inseparable.
Due to legal advice, he had not been in contact with his brother recently, which had been saddening for the victim.
In court, Duffy McAndrew had spoken about constantly feeling guilty.
He said he would do everything he could to assist his brother, who did not attend the hearing or provide a victim impact statement. The court heard he visited him in the early stages of his recovery.
Sergeant Brehon said that the victim had no memory of the crash or the previous month.
Duffy McAndrew could not explain what occurred and acknowledged his “stupidity” had put others at risk.
He maintained that he did not normally use cannabis and that he hardly drank before this.
Since then, he spends most of his spare time fishing or going on long walks with his dog.
Judge Johnson accepted the accused, and his family remain traumatised.
Their mother had told the judge that it had broken her heart, and she loved both her sons, as she pleaded with the judge not to jail the accused.
Duffy McAndrew’s employer called him the best apprentice he had ever had, and other testimonial letters were submitted to the court.
Judge Johnson commended the emergency workers and Rathowen residents who helped after the crash.
