David Medcalf

Wexford People

A motorist who knocked a pedestrian into a ditch and left the badly injured man at the scene was jailed for 18 months.

Scott Neary (53) from Ballinacor, Beech Road, Arklow, was tried and convicted of a hit and run offence by a jury in November. He returned to Wexford Circuit Court escorted by prison officers for his sentencing hearing.

Judge James McCourt was given a reminder of the facts that emerged during the trial. The injured party was Kilanerin man Colm McDonald who was walking home after a night socialising in Gorey on November 12, 2022.

He headed along the main Gorey to Arklow road but was struck by a vehicle before he reached the turn-off for Kilanerin. The result was multiple injuries and required the insertion of metal supports in one of his legs.

He was left with permanent scarring on his face and had to seek expensive dental treatment as several of his teeth were knocked out.

McDonald was fortunate that he was spotted shortly after the accident by Brendan Crowe who was on his way to work as a DPD courier.

Gardaí were left with a series of clues in the form of debris from a black Mini collected at the scene in the townland of Aske. Using CCTV footage harvested in Gorey, they discovered that Neary had been in Gorey that evening with a car that matched this description.

However, the Mini in question was discovered burnt out beyond recognition in a field near Aughrim shortly after the incident at Aske.

Despite this, the jury was persuaded unanimously that Neary must have been the person responsible for the hit and run. The driver had been attending a wedding party at the Coach House in Gorey that evening.

The guilty man was someone with serious mental health difficulties, the court was told by defending barrister, Donal Callaghan.

A panel beater by trade, Neary had worked with vehicles all his life, counsel added, and he had a previously unblemished driving record.

A sum of €3,000 was available by way of some compensation for Mr McDonald. The judge described the defendant’s actions of the night of the accident as reprehensible. Neary had left a pedestrian possibly for dead.

The second half of a three-year jail sentence was suspended and the mandatory four year disqualification from driving was imposed.