Lee Henry (13) and a group of his friends were running across a road when he was struck by a black VW Golf driven by Dean Shelley (29).
Investigations later determined that the car was driving over the speed limit.
Shelley, of Casement Road, Finglas West, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to careless driving causing death and failure to stop on the R139 road, Coolock, on October 22, 2016.
In a victim impact statement, which was read out in court on behalf of the family, the deceased’s mother said her son was the youngest of four brothers and loved being a big brother to his little sister.
She said he got high marks in secondary school and wanted to be a solicitor or a judge. He loved sports, particularly GAA, and was a massive fan of Dublin.
The court heard that before he left the house on the date of his death he said:
“Love you Ma, I’ll be home in a while, leave my dinner in the oven”.
She said that when the family arrived to the hospital after the collision, they were told that he had suffered a catastrophic brain injury and that nothing more could be done for him.
Hospital staff told the family that they would keep his heart going until the family told them to stop. The family got to sit with him for a while, give him a kiss and say goodbye.
The woman said that she held her son’s hand while his heart stopped, hoping that he would open his eyes. She said the hardest part was that her son would never go to college, get married or go for a drink with his brothers and his father.
His mother said that every day she woke up hoping it was a nightmare.
Judge Karen O’Connor said she wanted to extend her condolences to the family. She said that the victim impact statement made it clear that Lee was a very impressive young man and that the family had honored him by how they prepared the statement.
Shelley will be sentenced on December 12.
Detective Sergeant Noel Smith told Dominic McGinn SC, prosecuting, that on the date in question at around 9pm, a group of four teenage boys ran across the road as Shelley approached the pedestrian crossing in his car.
Dt Sgt Smith said that Shelley’s car struck the boy and carried him for some distance on the bonnet before the car braking caused the child to fall onto the road. Lee was attended at the scene by emergency services and pronounced dead in Temple Street Hospital at 12:15am.
Shelley did not stop at the scene and was pursued by gardaí to the back of Clare Hall housing estate where he abandoned his car and climbed over a wall. Gardaí discovered his wallet and driving licence within the abandoned car.
There was considerable damage to the bumper of the car and the windscreen had “basically caved in” on top of the driver.
Dt Sgt Smith said a collision investigator estimated that Shelley was driving faster than the road’s 60km/h speed limit and was probably driving around 80km/h. The investigator concluded that it would be very hard to see anyone running from the side due to hedging and the layout of the road.
Shelley arrived to Finglas Garda Station with his father at around 11pm and informed them he thought he had hit someone or something. In interview, Shelley said he panicked and drove away due to his tax disk being expired and he was afraid his car would be seized.
The accused had been stopped earlier in the day due to his tax being expired and his car was not seized. He has 12 previous convictions, including convictions for possession of drugs, no insurance and other road traffic matters.
Dt Sgt Smith agreed with Patrick Carroll SC, defending, that there was another incident in the area moments before the collision and that the group of four teenage boys went over to it out of curiosity.
One of the teenagers gave a statement to gardaí in which he said the group were told to leave the area. He said a garda van began driving towards them and they ran as they thought they were being chased.
Dt Sgt Smith also agreed with Mr Carroll that the boys had run across the road without waiting for the traffic lights to change and that Shelley had a green light.
Mr Carroll said his client is the father of a young son, but that Shelley’s relationship with the child’s mother broke down in the immediate aftermath of the collision. He said his client apologised for what he did, particular leaving the scene without trying to help.
Judge O’Connor ordered a probation report ahead of sentencing.