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Man jailed for dangerous driving after head-on crash killed brother-in-law on N4

Lithuanian man Tadas Veronicas of Longford town was jailed for two years

Yesterday at 15:17

A Lithuanian man who crashed head-on into a jeep while at the wheel of a “dangerously defective” vehicle which caused the death of his brother-in-law has been jailed for two years.

Twenty-eight-year-old Tadas Veronicas, of Palace Drive, Longford town, Co Longford was handed down the sentence at a sitting of Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of fellow Lithuanian man and father of one Deivydas Gruzas on February 4, 2022 on the N4 at Ballinfad, Mullingar, Co Westmeath.

The court heard how Veronicas had been travelling to work along the main N4 between Mullingar and Longford with the victim, who was sitting in the front passenger seat while another brother-in-law of his sat in the back.

Veronicas, during questioning following his arrest, told gardaí he had been left “smiling to himself” when his Audi A8 was overtaken by an A4 along the busy carriageway.

Presiding Judge Keenan Johnson heard how Veronicas pursued the aforementioned A4 and overtook a car at a junction which culminated in a head-on collision with a jeep and the death of Mr Gruzas.

A subsequent Garda PSV inspection of the married father of two’s vehicle found that the Audi A8 should not have been on the road at the time of the crash, owing to worn rear brake pads.

The court heard Veronicas went voluntarily to Longford garda station on March 14, five weeks after the fatal crash with his solicitor Fiona Baxter where he admitted both to speeding and that his driving was dangerous.

The wife of Mr Gruzas, in a victim impact statement, detailed how she and her son had been left “devastated” and “traumatised” as a result of the incident.

She said the couple had made plans for a family trip to Germany, but that those dreams and their “whole lives fell apart” when tragedy struck.

The court further heard how she now suffered from depression, struggled with sleep deprivation and had been left effectively housebound for a full 12 months after the crash.

Judge Johnson empathised with Ms Gruzas, saying the young mother’s was “just existing” and that her entire life was in “a state of collapse”.

He said: “It would seem the biggest tribute she can pay her husband is to find it in her heart to try and forgive the accused.

“I appreciate that it’s a big ask to expect her to forgive the accused, however I am fully convinced that until she does so the pain caused by the bitterness she feels towards the accused will cause greater suffering to her than anyone else.”

Defence counsel, John Shortt, SC said while the actions of his client had catastrophic consequences for the Gruzas family, they were undertakings that represented a “momentary lapse of judgement” and were not exacerbated by the consumption of drink or drugs.

In determining sentence, Judge Johnson said the incident, due to the factors of speed, failing to keep a proper lookout and the involvement of a dangerously defective vehicle, ranked at the “upper end” of a mid range sentence that before mitigation carried a headline six year jail term.

He consequently sentenced Veronicas to three years in prison, suspending the final year for a period of two years.

He also disqualified him from driving for a period of six years.