A man who broke a red light and knocked down a 12-year-old girl as she was crossing the road experienced a “momentary lapse in concentration”, a court has heard.
The child suffered soft tissue swelling to her temple and a cut to her eyebrow but has made a full recovery since she was hit by the car in south Dublin last year, a court has heard.
Guillermo Salazar (51) was initially charged with dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm, but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of careless driving causing serious bodily harm, on March 18th, 2023 at Wyckham Way, Dundrum, Dublin.
Salazar, with an address at Greenpark Road, Bray, Co Wicklow, was handed a nine-month suspended sentence at a sitting of Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Wednesday.
Garda Jason McDonnell told Antonia Boyle BL, prosecuting, that when gardaí were called to the scene they found the victim lying on the road beside the footpath, already being treated by members of the fire brigade.
A Peugeot that had been driven by Salazar was parked nearby.
Salazar told gardaí at the scene that he had had a green traffic light at the pedestrian crossing but had been unable to avoid a collision and had struck the girl.
A witness who was driving behind Salazar said he saw a red light at the crossing ahead but noticed that the Peugeot in front of him was not stopping.
This man said he saw a girl walking out onto the road and sounded his horn in an attempt to warn her, but that the Peugeot then drove straight through the red light and hit the girl.
A second pedestrian witness described seeing a girl taking two steps onto the road before a grey car drove through the crossing and struck the girl with the front left side of his vehicle.
This witness said he then looked at the pedestrian lights and saw that they were green.
The 12-year-old girl told gardaí the following month that she remembered getting “a green man” and then could not recall anything further until she woke up in hospital.
Collision
A Garda Forensic Collision Investigation Unit compiled a report using CCTV footage that was played in court, which said the child stood at the crossing for 18 seconds after pressing the button for the traffic lights.
The report said the driver of the Peugeot turned his front wheels slightly to the right in an apparent effort to avoid the pedestrian, but he was too close when he tried to take this evasive action.
The car collided with the girl, and she spun towards the wing mirror and hit her head off the windscreen, the court heard.
Salazar was driving at 45/kmph in a 50/kmph zone and was not under the influence, the court heard.
The report said that the girl was not obscured from view and had Salazar reacted within one second, the collision may have been avoided.
The girl was taken by ambulance to hospital where she showed a Glasgow Coma Score of three. She required assisted ventilation en route to hospital and a CT scan showed minor soft tissue swelling to her temple.
She underwent plastic surgery to repair a laceration of her left eyebrow and was discharged from hospital a few days later. Her family compiled a victim impact statement giving further details of her injuries, but this was not read out in court.
Salazar was arrested and interviewed twice by gardaí but made no admissions. He has no previous convictions.
Gda McDonnell agreed with Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC, defending, that his client entered an early guilty plea, that this was valuable to the prosecution and no disclosure was sought by the defence.
It was further accepted that Salazar cooperated with gardaí during interview and accepted he was the one driving, but maintained he had a green light.
Gda McDonnell agreed that Salazar has no penalty points, a full licence and the car itself was in good working condition and fully insured. The Garda also said Salazar remained at the scene following the collision and there was no signs of alcohol or speeding.
He also accepted the defence's suggestion that there was no sign of prior inappropriate driving, and it appeared Salazar had suffered a “momentary lapse in concentration”.
Inattention
Salazar works part-time and cares for his three young children while his wife works. A number of references were handed into the court, including from Salazar's wife, his adult son, and a chaplain.
Mr Ó Lideadha said his client was very distressed by this collision, due to the harm caused to the victim, and the consequences of a conviction. A letter of apology was provided to the court.
He asked the court to use its discretion and not impose a driving disqualification as his client drives his wife to work and children to school.
Judge Martin Nolan said the victim “did what you should do” while crossing a road.
He noted the girl was injured, but “thankfully as injuries go, they weren’t the most serious”. While it would have been “very distressing” for her and her family, the judge said the court hoped there would be no long-term impacts.
He noted Salazar was driving responsibly before the collision occurred but didn't see the red light.
“I have to accept that if he had been concentrating properly, he would have seen the red light,” the judge said, describing Salazar as guilty of inattention and responsible for the collision which occurred.
Judge Nolan said there was “good mitigation” and imposed a nine-month sentence suspended in full on strict conditions.
He declined to impose a driving disqualification, noting that Salazar's licence will be endorsed, which will have its own consequences.
“He’s convicted of criminal offence now and that’s a serious matter,” Judge Nolan said.
“Thankfully, the child involved has made a full recovery and that’s the main thing as far as this court is concerned,” he added.
