Man jailed for five years for fatal hit and run in Donegal  - Donegal News

Hit and run driver sentenced to five years

A DONEGAL man was sent to jail for five years today for dangerous driving causing the death of a Lifford woman in a hit and run incident almost five years ago.

Donegal man, Sean Connaughton (54) faced a number of charges arising out of the death of Laura Connolly (35) in Lifford on July 11, 2021.

After a long, drawn out legal process, Connaughton was finally sentenced today on four charges.

The victim in the case, Laura Connolly, who had been due to get married, had been returning home from a night out when she was struck by a car driven by Connaughton.

Laura Connolly who was tragically killed by a car driven by Sean Connaughton.

Speaking outside Letterkenny Circuit Court following today’s sentencing, her mother, Rosemary Connolly said Laura had been the love of her life since the day she was born.

She also gave an emotional response to the events of the legal process that had gripped the family for the last five years, and had changed them forever.

“We’re just after coming out of the court there now, and we don’t as a family think that we got justice for what happened,” she told reporters.

“The run around that he (Connaughton) gave us right up until today, postponed, postponed, put back.

“We can’t celebrate birthdays, weddings, I can’t go to a wedding.

“I don’t receive family gifts, birthday cards, Christmas cards, mother’s day cards, I don’t receive any of them.

Rosemary Connolly, mother of Laura, who spoke after today’s sentencing at Letterkenny Circuit Court. Photo: North West Newspix.

“My Laura was just the love of my life, from the day she was born.

“She was a good mother and a good person, full of life and lived life to the full.

“And when I’m here now I want to thank Martin Gallagher, and Rory Gallagher that helped Laura on the scene, and stood by the statement from day one.

“I want to give a big thanks to them, the team and all the family that stayed with us from day one.”

Earlier, the court heard how Connaughton, with an address of Doolargy Avenue, Dundalk, Co Louth, was driving significantly in excess of the 50 km/hr speed limit and was found to be travelling at 73 km/hr some distance back from the scene of the collision.

He had failed to heed flashing lights of oncoming cars in the opposite direction to warn him that there was a person on the road, the court heard.

Judge John Aylmer noted how other pedestrians had tried to wave down Connaughton but had failed to get his attention.

The judge said Connaughton’s phone records showed that he was having a “texting row with his partner” (whilst driving) , and went on to tell the tense courtroom that this “seems to explain why he missed all those warnings”.

He described how Connaughton braked, swerved and ran over Laura Connolly and a very loud noise followed, and that in-spite of that “Connaughton drove on”.

Judge Aylmer said the aggravating factors were that Connaughton was disqualified at the time of the collision and had previous disqualification convictions for drunk driving and driving without insurance.

The previous convictions and the nature of this charge placed the offence at the upper end of the scale, he said.

On a second charge of fleeing the scene the judge noted that the defendant handed himself in to the Gardaí the following day.

The judge told the court how Connaughton had not made any attempt to destroy the evidence found subsequently on the vehicle.

On the third and fourth charges of driving without a licence and driving without insurance, the judge said that the offences were very much at the upper end of the scale as Connaughton had been driving whilst disqualified, had no insurance, was texting and speeding and had several previous and serious motoring convictions.

In mitigation, the judge said Connaughton seemed genuinely remorseful, had lost the society of his children and had been the victim of death threats since. Connaughton moved to Dundalk as a consequence.

Connaughton had spent 25 years as a fireman, but was deemed at a moderate risk of re-offending by the Probation Service, the court was told.

The judge said Connaughton had thought he’d been hit by a bottle when the collision occurred, but that this explanation “was inconsistent with the evidence”.

“He must have known that he drove over someone, swerving and braking, he must have known,” Judge Aylmer said.

Connaughton was sentenced to seven years in prison for dangerous driving causing death, with mitigation reducing the sentence to six years, with the last 12 months suspended.

He was sentenced to five years for fleeing the scene, reduced to four years and three months for mitigation.

Finally he received six months for having no licence and a further six months in jail for no insurance.

The sentences are to be served concurrently, and the final year of the six years in prison to be suspended for 12 months subsequent to release and under the supervision of the probation service.

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