Cork driver jailed for fleeing scene after hitting man who later died

An East Cork motorist who fled the scene after knocking down a man who died that night has been jailed for two years.

The incident happened 22 years after the same driver knocked down and killed his own uncle on the same stretch of road.

Martin Donnelly, aged 60, of Castlemartyr, and originally from Ballintotis in East Cork, was jailed for two years yesterday at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

The family of the deceased man, 61-year-old Ger Jones from Wexford — a beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, and friend — said he was left to die alone like an animal as Martin Donnelly drove away.

Ten hours later, the motorist turned up at his local garda station and said he panicked at 9.30pm that Thursday night on March 2, 2023, because in 2001 he had knocked down and killed his uncle at the same location.

Sergeant Brian Larkin of the Cork county roads policing unit said that the deceased was drinking socially that evening and put on a high-vis vest to walk home to his B&B that evening, exactly two years and four months ago.

DROPPED PHONE

Mr Jones had dropped his phone, and when he went back to see if he could locate it, he was struck by the car driven by Martin Donnelly.

Donnelly has since pleaded guilty to failing to remain at the scene of an in incident, to provide medical assistance or call the emergency services, and not having insurance to drive that car.

Donnelly drove home by a circuitous route and did not present at Midleton Garda Station until 7.30am the following morning.

Moments after Donnelly hit Mr Jones and fled the scene, another car had to swerve to avoid the stricken pedestrian, before a third car rolled over him.

Both of these motorists remained at the scene to render assistance and alert the emergency services. Mr Jones was pronounced dead at the scene.

Jailing Martin Donnelly, Judge Sinead Behan said: “Society cannot allow accidents like this to happen where a person leaves the scene.”

LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY

She added that a motorist has not just a legal responsibility but a human responsibility to render assistance.

As well as jailing him for two years, the judge disqualified him from driving for a period of six years.

Donal O’Sullivan said in relation to the 2001 fatal incident involving the defendant’s uncle, there was no prosecution brought against Martin Donnelly in an accident where his uncle walked onto the road where Donnelly was driving a truck.

He said the accused had always been an otherwise productive member of society.

The deceased man’s daughter, Leah Jones, said on behalf of the family: “A road traffic accident is the term that’s used but we don’t believe for one second that hitting a 6ft human being and fleeing the scene leaving them there to be run over again and again is in any way an accident.

“We are forever haunted by the night that we got the devastating news.

“If the defendant had the decency to stop that night, we might have been able to see our beautiful dad laid out in his coffin and had that little bit of closure.

“Maybe my dad’s brothers could have been able to identify their baby brother, rather than him being identifiable only by his dental records.

“Our mam could have kissed him one last time, we could have held his hand, hugged him, put his most loved items in the coffin alongside him.

“The defendant played God in all aspects of my dad’s death.”

Judge Behan noted from Sgt Larkin’s evidence that the late Ger Jones would have been in a deep coma, if not dead, after Donnelly hit him.

She suggested that it may be of some solace to his family that he would not have been conscious for the following two incidents.