The father of a 16-year-old girl who was killed in a road accident has criticised the length of time it takes for such cases to come to court.
Hilary Murphy told Newstalk Breakfast of the anguish and hardship his family had gone through in the two and a half years since his daughter Katie died in an accident when a car driven by Edward O’Shea, 19, was involved in an accident.
On Tuesday, Edward O’Shea from Magnh, Fenor, Co Waterford, was sentenced to 14 months in prison for careless driving causing the death of Ms Murphy in a crash in October 2016.
O’Shea pleaded guilty at Waterford Circuit Court in January to careless driving causing the death of Ms Murphy, who was from Ballinamona in Waterford, and careless driving causing serious harm to friends Joseph Walsh and Jessica Flynn.
Family of the late Katie Murphy outside Waterford courthouse after Edward O’Shea was sentenced to 14 months in prison: Scott (Katie’s brother), Vivienne (mother) and Hilary (father)
The pleas were not accepted by the State and he went on trial at the circuit court earlier this year on charges of dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing serious harm, but was convicted by a jury of the careless driving causing death and serious harm charges.
He was sentenced to 14 months in prison, concurrent, on each of the careless driving charges, by Judge O’Kelly on Tuesday and also banned from driving for six years.
The judge also fined him €800 for driving on a learner permit without being accompanied by a qualified driver.
"We waited two and a half years to get to court. These cases should be dealt with as quickly as possible.
“In the judicial system everything moves at the pace they determine.”
Mr Murphy told of how his life is “unrecognisable”.
“Every morning I wake up and the first thing that comes to mind is that Katie is gone.”
He admitted that relationships within the family have suffered since Katie’s death and that he is “relying on medication”.
The court case “brought everything back so vividly. All the evidence in court, it was just horrible, absolutely horrible”.
When asked about the introduction of speed limiters in cars, Mr Murphy said that he thought they were a good idea.
His advice to young drivers is “behave yourself”.
