Student died after he was run over, court hears
A 21-year-old college student was killed when an Algerian chip shop owner knocked him down in his jeep after the victim threatened to report him for assaulting his friend, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has heard.
UCD student David Keating died as a result of head injuries he sustained after he was carried for 25 feet on the bonnet of Zitouni Mekhalfia's vehicle before falling off and striking his head on the ground.
Mr Keating stood in the way of the jeep and warned Mekhalfia that he was going to phone the gardai because he had hit his friend with a baseball bat. The assault occurred after the two Irish youths had an altercation with the Algerian and a passenger in his vehicle.
Mekhalfia (aged 46), from Goldstone Court, Crumlin, fled the country straight after the incident and the gardaí traced him back to Algeria. Extradition warrants were sought but he agreed to come back to Ireland voluntarily and face the charges.
He pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment which led to the death of Mr Keating, from Delafort Grove, Templeogue, at the junction of the South Circular Road and Emor Street, and to failing to remain at the scene of an acccident on October 8, 2000.
Judge Desmond Hogan said it was a very serious matter and he wanted to read all the victim impact reports on Mr Keating's family members. He adjourned the sentence until July 17 and remanded Mekhalfia, who has no previous convictions, on continuing bail.
An emotional Mr Tom Keating, the victim's father, who attended court with his wife Grainne and the extended family, said David was a fine young man who had a great future to look forward to.
He said: "My son was a fine young man. He was a science graduate who was determined to be a doctor and to serve the community. He wanted nothing more than to be a responsible citizen and to be a pediatrician.
"It's not only a loss to this family but to the community as a whole because he had a wonderful future to look forward and the real tragedy in this case is that he's the one person who can not be here in court today."
Detective Inspector Michael O'Sullivan told Mr Brendan Grehan SC, prosecuting, that Mr Keating had watched the Ireland v Portugal World Cup soccer qualifier in a house with friends earlier that evening and they went into the city centre for the night.
Mr Keating and three of his friends were walking along the South Circular Road at about 5.30am trying to get a taxi home.
They encountered Mekhalfia at the junction of Emor Street and Victoria Street, after he had closed up his chip shop on Richmond Street and was sitting in his jeep with one of his employees, Mr Achmed Khalid.
Det Insp O'Sullivan said that after some good-natured banter between Mr Keating and one of his friends, Mr Bernard Broderick, and the two men in the jeep, things suddenly deteriorated.
Some witnesses claimed that racial comments were aimed at the Algerian and a punch was thrown through the open window at his passenger.
At this point Mekhalfia got out of the car with a baseball and struck Mr Broderick on the leg. Mr Keating put one hand on the bonnet and held up his mobile phone with his other one.
Mekhalfia tried to drive around him but he accelerated and Mr Keating was thrown on to the bonnet.
Det Insp O'Sullivan agreed with Mr Patrick Gageby SC, for Mekhalfia, that his client was trying to drive around Mr Keating but the deceased wouldn't move and he was lifted on to the bonnet of the car when the defendant accelerated.
Mr Gageby said Mekhalfia, although being an Algerian, was a UK citizen but had lived in Ireland since 1981. He had shown genuine remorse for the actions and never set out to hurt anyone. One moment of stupidity had led to the death of Mr Keating.
Mr Gageby added that his client now lived with a new partner and their four-year-old son, but in a cruel twist of fate a daughter of his was killed in a car accident in London last October.
