The driver of the car that crashed on the way to a debs ball in Co Monaghan resulting in two teenage friends being killed has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing their deaths.
Best friends 17-year-old Kiea McCann and 16-year-old Dlava Mohamed died on July 31, 2023, when the car being driven by Anthony McGinn (60) hit a tree on a section of the N54 at Legnakelly near Clones as he drove them to their debs dance in Monaghan town.
At Monaghan Circuit Court today McGinn, of Drumloo, Newbliss, in Co Monaghan, also pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm to Avin Mohamed, a sister of Dlava.
He was remanded on continuing bail by judge John Aylmer to appear at the next court sessions. He can face up to five years in prison for the offences.
Members of Kiea’s family were present in the courtroom for the short hearing.
McGinn only spoke to answer the two charges as they were put to him.
Neither he nor the family spoke after today’s sitting.
Alin Sorin Gatea outside Monaghan Courthouse.
Previously, Kiea McCann’s father Franky told the Irish Independent how McGinn had driven the girls and a young man who was attending the debs from his home in Clones, but shortly afterwards he got a call after the crash and rushed to the scene.
“I got out there as quick as I could and tried to revive them with a woman that was there also. I had to move from my daughter to her best friend, but there was nothing I could do. All I could do was ask that they be put lying together,” Mr McCann had said.
“There was great excitement here in the house before they went out. We had food and champagne and balloons, and it was going to be a great night.
“They could have got a coach out to the hotel, but they wanted to drive in style,” he had added.
Judge John Aylmer ordered a probation report to see if McGinn is suitable for community service, but said a decision on that as a sentence had not been made yet.
Separately, on Monday a man appeared in court charged with multiple counts of dangerous driving, including a charge in connection to an incident that claimed the lives of the two teenagers.
Alin Sorin Gatea (46) with an address at 4 Carn Heights, Clones, Co Monaghan, appeared at a sitting of Monaghan District Court to face five counts of dangerous driving on the same date, one of which related to a charge at Legnakelly, Clones, where the crash took place.
The other four charges related to alleged incidents at Clonkirk, Altertate Glebe, Clonkeen and Largy in Clones
Gatea’s solicitor Catherine Taaffe applied to have the case adjourned on foot of “various disclosure issues” which had emerged arising out of the State’s evidence.
She said part of that application rested on the fact a large volume of documentation still had to be translated and dash-cam footage which carried “very strong” prejudicial implications for her client in its current format.
“They (charges) are dangerous driving simpliciter and I should stress that and when one looks at the footage, your eyes are constantly fixed on the car in front which is not relevant to my client’s standard of driving,” she said.
Ms Taaffe added a further point which needed to be ironed out was exacting how the State had determined the speed of her client’s driving on the date in question.
“There are several methods that can be used to calculate the average speed a vehicle travels and different formulas are used can come up with different speed averages and that’s the point,” she said.
Sgt Lisa McEntee countered by saying the prosecution’s case rested largely on the visual footage which was linked to the incident.
“The dash cam is there in real time, there is no better evidence,” she said.
Ms Taaffe replied, however by saying garda evidence which suggested Gatea had been speeding was not in keeping with certain eye witness accounts.
She appealed to Judge Raymond Finnegan to allow the defence further time by arguing five weeks was all which had been afforded to her client.
“We haven’t sat on our hands, five weeks is all I have had,” she said. “The State have had much longer to put together their case.”
Judge Finnegan consented to that request and remanded Gatea on bail to a sitting of Monaghan District Court on March 10.