Latest news with #MonaghanCircuitCriminalCourt
Sunday World
4 days ago
- Sunday World
Man hit speeds of over 150kmh as he followed car involved in fatal Debs crash
Members of the McCann family, who had been listening on in court, reacted angrily when it was put to Judge Finnegan there had been no indication of any racing element being involved A father of four who drove at speeds of more than 150kmh as it followed a car that was involved in a crash that claimed the lives of two teenagers as they made their way to a Debs ball in Monaghan has been handed an 18 month suspended prison sentence. Alin Sorin Gatea (46) of Carn Heights, Clones, Co Monaghan, appeared at a sitting of Monaghan District Court to face five counts of dangerous driving at various locations between Clones and Monaghan on July 31, 2023. Best friends Kiea McCann (17) and Dlava Mohamed (16) were killed when a car driven by Anthony McGinn of Drumloo in Co Monaghan left the road and crashed into a tree. Alin Sorin Gatea was handed down three terms of six months in prison, sentences which Judge Raymond Finnegan ordered to run consecutively for a period of two years. The 62-year-old was jailed for seven years at a sitting of Monaghan Circuit Criminal Court last month having previously pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the deaths of the two teenage girls. McGinn was also banned from driving for 15 years having also pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm to Avin Mohamed, a sister of Dlava. Romanian national Gatea pleaded guilty to dangerous driving before Judge Raymond Finnegan during which dashcam footage taken from the factory worker's car was played in open court. Alin Sorin Gatea outside Monaghan Courthouse. Inspector Ann Marie Lardener said Gatea had been behind the wheel of an 11-registered BMW and en route to the Westenra Arms Hotel in Monaghan town with his 19-year-old son and his debs partner when the incident took place. She said conditions on the evening were wet as footage from Gatea's car was played. That showed the factory worker following behind a jeep and trailer just outside Clones town before the car in question could be seen overtaking it just past a Circle K filling station on the outskirts of the town. Inspector Lardener said as a result of forensic led investigations that followed, Gatea's car was found to have been travelling at a minimum speed of 145kmh and a maximum speed of 151kmh between the service station and the New Line junction. Anthony McGinn was sentenced to seven years in jail for causing the deaths of Kiea McCann (left) and Dlava Mohamed. The court was told Gatea was travelling at close to or double the 60kmh and 80kmh speed limit zones on the road. In defence, solicitor Catherine Taaffe was at pains to point out there had been 'no joint enterprise' or suggestion her client had been acting in concert with the other car. Members of the McCann family, who had been listening on in court, reacted angrily when it was put to Judge Finnegan there had been no indication of any racing element being involved, an admission that caused the late Kiea McCann's father Frankie to shout: 'He didn't help, f****** w*****' before being escorted out of court by a garda. Anthony McGinn's reckless driving caused the deaths of Kiea McCann and Dlava Mohamed Ms Taaffe said her client had been a permanent fixture in Ireland for the past decade who had endured significant personal turmoil in the aftermath of the incident. She said that had manifested itself through posts which had been published on social media to such an extent there was now a 'live threat' on his life. Insp Lardener replied, insisting gardaí were not aware of any such threat being present, something Ms Taaffe attempted to clarify by revealing how Gatea had made an official complaint before later withdrawing it out of fear of causing any more upset. 'His car was destroyed and his son's car was also destroyed,' she told the court. 'He suffers from PTSD and his wife has threatened to leave him and take the children back to Romania.' A copy of a social media publication in connection to the incident and Gatea's involvement was handed into Judge Finnegan which, the Justice, described as 'fairly sinister'. Ms Taaffe also said Gatea had, in fact, volunteered to hand in the dashcam footage from his car and had cooperated fully with the garda investigation that followed. Alin Sorin Gatea was also banned from driving for four years. In handing down his sentence, Judge Finnegan said there was no denying Gatea, who had one previous conviction to his name, had 'clearly put' the lives of both himself and his two passengers in danger as he handed down three separate six month suspended sentences for dangerous driving episodes at Clonkirk, Altertate Glebe and Legnakelly in Clones. Judge Finnegan ordered the three terms of six months to run consecutively, suspending their duration for two years. He was also disqualified from driving for four years with the two other dangerous driving charges being taken into consideration. Alin Sorin Gatea outside Monaghan Courthouse. News in 90 Seconds - June 17th
RTÉ News
5 days ago
- RTÉ News
Suspended sentence for driver found speeding ahead of fatal crash
A 46-year-old driver, who was found speeding as he followed the car that was involved in a crash that claimed the lives of two teenagers who were on their way to their Debs in Co Monaghan almost two years ago, has been given an 18-month suspended sentence. Alin Sorin Gatea of Carn Heights, Clones, Co Monaghan, appeared before a sitting of Monaghan District Court to face five counts of dangerous driving at various locations between Clones and Monaghan on 31 July 2023. On that date, best friends Kiea McCann, 17, and Dlava Mohamed, 16, died when the car they were travelling in left the road and struck a tree at Legnakelly, just outside Clones. Anthony McGinn, with an address at Drumloo, Newbliss, Co Monaghan, previously pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the deaths of the two teenagers. Last month, the 61-year-old, who had offered to drop the girls to their Debs in Monaghan town on the evening in question, was jailed for seven years at Monaghan Circuit Criminal Court. Gatea, a father-of-four and a Romanian national, subsequently pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving before Monaghan District Court. The court was told that Gatea was driving his own 19-year-old son and his son's debs partner to the Westenra Arms Hotel in Monaghan town when the incident took place. Dash-cam footage was played to the court which showed the factory worker's BMW travelling at speed behind McGinn's white BMW prior to the fatal collision Garda Inspector Ann-Marie Lardner told the court that forensic examinations had been carried out and the dash-cam footage of the incident from Gatea's vehicle had been examined. Ms Lardner said that Gatea was found to have been travelling at a minimum speed of 145km/h and a maximum speed of 151km/h on the N54 between a service station and the New Line junction. The court was told that this was close to or double the 60km/h and 80km/h speed limit zones on the road in question. Defence solicitor Catherine Taaffe told the court that there had been "no joint enterprise" or suggestion that her client had been acting in concert with the other car. Ms Taaffe also said that Gatea had voluntarily handed in the dash-cam footage shown in court, which had helped the State in bringing someone else to justice for a much serious crime. Members of Kiea McCann's family, who were in court, reacted angrily when it was put to Judge Raymond Finnegan there had been no indication of any racing element being involved. The judge said he understood that the family were angry and upset but he said the Director of Public Prosecutions had directed him in this way over the dangerous driving charges and he can only act on what is before him. Judge Finnegan then handed Gatea three separate six-month suspended sentences for different dangerous driving episodes. The sentences are to run consecutively and were suspended for a duration of two years. The judge also disqualified the 46-year-old factory worker from driving for four years.
The Irish Sun
08-05-2025
- The Irish Sun
Schoolgirl best friends died holding hands in horror crash on way to prom after driver ignored pleas to slow down
TWO teen best pals died "holding hands" in a horror crash on the way to prom after a driver ignored pleas to slow down. Kiea McCann, 17 and Dlava Mohamed, 16, were being driven by 61-year-old Anthony McGinn when the tragedy unfolded. 5 Kiea McCann and Dlava Mohamed were killed in a horror crash Credit: social media collect - 5 Anthony McGinn was speeding before he hit a tree Credit: RTE News The driver had been speeding on his way to the formal when he lost control of his BMW and smashed into a tree at 75mph. Both girls tragically died side-by-side following the horror in County Monaghan, Ireland, in July 2023. Dlava's sister Avin, who had also been travelling in the car at the time, was injured. McGinn has now pleaded guilty to causing the girls' deaths by dangerous driving and causing Avin serious bodily harm. Read more news In a heartbreaking victim impact statement, Kiea's mum Teresa told how she "trusted" McGinn to take her daughter to the leaver's ball. She said: "When we got to the scene, Kiea was already gone. Her dad tried CPR on her. Nothing would bring her back. "Kiea and her best friend were robbed of their lives. They were put side by side holding hands on the grass as me and my husband lay beside them." Dlava's sister told how she feels guilty over the crash as she invited the teen to the dance with her. Most read in The Sun She said she did not learn about the pair's death for months due to her injuries after "everything went black" in the crash. Monaghan Circuit Criminal Court was told family friend McGinn had picked up the group from a pub in the town before heading to the ball. Front seat passenger Oisin Clerkin has asked McGinn to "slow down" but the driver did not respond. Oisin later told police: "He was driving really fast and it scared me. "None of the girls said anything. Kiea looked scared. I said 'Goodbye' to Kiea and I woke up in hospital." The court was shown harrowing footage of Kiea and Dlava's final moments before McGinn collided with the tree. He later told police he had no idea what speed he was going at before the crash. The court heard McGinn was travelling at more than 90mph in a 50mph zone and hit the tree at 75mph. This prompted Kiea's dad Frankie to yell out in court: "I'll never forget you, you f***ing b*****d." Breffni Gordon, defending, said McGinn had apologised to the victims' families and was remorseful. He will be sentenced on May 14. 5 Kiea was on her way to her leaver's ball when the crash took place Credit: Pacemaker 5 She and Dlava died side-by-side Credit: RTE News 5 Tributes were paid to both girls Credit: SOCIAL MEDIA COLLECT
