After being convicted by a jury of careless driving causing the death of cyclist Mary White, a Dublin Bus driver has been banned from driving for four years.
A Dublin Bus driver has been banned from driving for four years following his conviction for causing the death of a cyclist in a crash in the capital.
Cyclist Mary White (55) died in hospital after being hit by a bus cutting a corner on Burlington Road, south Dublin.
She was taken from the scene, at a T junction on Burlington Road, at about 9.40pm on November 17th, 2014. She died, of head injuries, two days later.
Dublin Bus driver Osborn Irabor (58), French Park, Tyrrelstown, Dublin, had pleaded not guilty to the charge.
However, he was convicted last month on the charge of causing death by careless driving after a two-day trial.
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In sentencing Mr Irabor yesterday at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Judge Francis Comerford said there was no criminal intent in the case.
He believed the crash was caused by Mr Irabor not seeing Ms White on her bike. This, the judge said, was because she was in a blind spot created by the double decker’s wing mirror.
He added she was in that blind spot, cycling towards the bus as it turned the junction towards her, because the Mr Irabor had cut the corner and had not stopped at the junction.
Judge Comerford said the lapse in driving and its consequences did not warrant a term of imprisonment.
Instead, a four-year driving ban was imposed and this would probably result in the driver losing his job.
The judge also agreed to defer the ban until New Year’s Day. Mr Irabor’s barrister requested this to ease the hardship of the ban on his family over Christmas.
However, Judge Comerford said the hardship or remorse and consequences for the driver did not compare to the impact of Ms White’s death on her family.
Victim impact evidence was heard yesterday from Peg White, the victim’s mother. She made her contribution in a prepared statement and was not in court.
She said, via her statement submitted to the court, that her daughter had cycled around Dublin for 35 years and was very careful.
She added Mr Irabor had never apologised, even after the verdict. However, Garnet Orange SC, for the convicted man, said Dublin Bus instructed its employees not to make admissions of liability or make apologies.
He said his client was following his employer’s orders, which were related to insurance concerns.
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The court was told Ms White’s kidneys were donated to a young girl who now regularly wrote to the family. Mrs White said it would have been easier on the family had Mr Irabor pleaded guilty.
The trial last month heard the driver had worked for Dublin Bus for the past eight years and had had a good safety record.
However, the court case was also told by a Garda witness that Mr Irabor had “cut the corner” in his bus on the night of the fatal crash.
As a result, his bus was on the wrong side of the road when it hit Mary White while she was cycling.
The bus was turning right on Burlington Road as Ms White was cycling towards the bus from the right.
The trial heard at the time of impact the bus had begun the turn up to five metres from the point where it should have yielded to traffic from the right.
Mary While had a hi-visibility jacket on, was wearing a helmet and also had lights. The prosecution said during last month’s trial that the victim was “available to see” on the road.
However, defence lawyer Garnet Orange SC said at the time while some cyclists made the effort to be seen at this time of year, their bike lights faded over time.
He also told the opening day of the trial that while some cyclists behaved very well, others did not have such good records.
Mr Orange added while Mary White was wearing a helmet it was not fastened. As a result, it was as useful as “a chocolate tea pot”.
He said the lights of the bus could not have caught Mary White, adding the street light where the crash took place was also broken.
The fatal crash, he said, was due to very bad luck rather than careless driving. He urged the jurors to ignore the “cyclists versus everyone else debate” when deliberating.
Prosecution lawyer Antonia Boyle BL told the jury the bus had cut the corner. She added evidence before the court that other buses did the same at the same corner did not make it right.
Garda Michael McHugh told the trial he arrived on the scene while he was on bicycle patrol.
He saw a bus stopped in the middle of the road and then heard and saw the accused man in a distressed state.
Ms White was on the ground and was clearly very badly injured, the Garda witness told the court.
Mr Irabor was breathalysed and passed that test. A cyclist’s helmet and rear light were found at the scene.
On the second day of the trial, Judge Comerford told the jury if they found that Ms White could not be seen by Mr Irabor they must acquit him.
However, the judge said the jurors must also ask themselves if the driving fell below acceptable standards. In the end they returned a guilty verdict.
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