Child (4) knocked down and injured by van in Portlaoise
The van driver pleaded guilty to careless driving and failing to remain at the scene of an accident when he appeared at Portlaoise District Court
A LITTLE boy’s leg was broken when he was knocked down by a van at a junction in Portlaoise.
The four-year-old was crossing the road on a scooter, while on the way home with his mother, when he was struck by a van that subsequently drove away.
A defending barrister told Portlaoise District Court last Thursday that the driver was in a state of panic and “ran scared” but was fully cooperative with gardaí later.
Derek Dunne, 7 Gash Court, Castletown, Co Laois pleaded guilty to careless driving and failing to remain at the scene of an accident on 23 January 2024. The court heard that the mother and child were returning home along the Mountmellick Road when the incident happened at the Elm Lawn junction, where a van was turning left.
Both parties stopped and then the woman and her little boy, who was on a scooter, started to cross the road when the van hit the child. The driver stopped and spoke to the woman briefly but then left the scene and parked at Fairgreen.
The boy was admitted to Tullamore hospital, where he was found to have sustained a fracture to his left leg below the knee. The driver had a number of previous convictions for road traffic offences.
Garda Rabbitte called to Mr Dunne’s home the following evening and the 46-year-old made a full admission. He was working for a scaffolding company at the time and the van was a company vehicle. An insurance claim is pending on behalf of the child.
Defending barrister Andrew Dunne said his client had no drink or drugs issues and was “incredibly apologetic” for what was a genuine error. The barrister said: “He stopped to check that the child was okay and spoke briefly with the mother but then, in a state of panic or shock and believing the child was okay, he drove off. It was a lapse of judgment and he ran scared. He sends his best wishes to the child and hopes that he makes a full recovery.”
Judge Andrew Cody convicted and fined the defendant €500 for careless driving and €500 for failing to remain at the scene of an accident.
