A cyclist whose foot was severed by a hit-and-run driver — who had smoked cannabis and got drunk at a pub before getting behind the wheel of a car and causing the serious collision which left the victim bleeding out, temporarily blind and with fractures to his spine, shoulder and ribs — has described the motorist's actions as "unforgivable and incomprehensible" as she pleaded guilty to numerous charges in court.

Niamh McDonnell had smoked a cannabis joint on the morning of the collision, Extra.ie (link is external) reports, the court hearing how on finishing her shift at around 2.30pm she went to the pub and drank five vodkas, five shots of whiskey, as well as tequila. Turning down the offer of a lift home from a friend, the 30-year-old then left the pub in her mother-in-law's car and soon after hit off-duty garda Niall Flood from behind as he cycled on the R522 in Limerick.

Mr Flood had been wearing safety clothing and was using a light, but was hit and thrown into a ditch, suffering life-changing injuries. Despite Mr Flood bleeding out, with several fractures and having been left temporarily blind, McDonnell did not assist him and drove home with a flat tyre and shattered windscreen, where her partner found Mr Flood's foot still wedged into the front of the vehicle and alerted the authorities.

Limerick Circuit Court heard that a motorist who witnessed the hit-and-run was able to save the cyclist's life by making a tourniquet for his leg wound before he was airlifted to Cork University Hospital.

McDonnell claimed she had only drunk one drink before leaving the pub, something disproved by CCTV footage and bar receipts. The hit-and-run driver will be sentenced on November 24, having pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm, driving while drunk, failing to stop at the scene, failing to provide assistance, and driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

Mr Flood was unable to attend court due to his injuries, but a victim impact statement was read in which he said McDonnell's actions were "unforgivable and incomprehensible".

In the days following the collision, it was revealed the air ambulance had arrived on the scene 12 minutes after being notified, and the fast response was praised by Mr Flood's friends and colleagues as helping to save his life.

Liam Galvin, a Fine Gael councillor for Newcastle West, where Mr Flood is stationed, paid tribute to the cyclist, who he described as "an excellent Garda".

"He is one of the good guys, and our thoughts are with him and his wife. He had big ideas and plans for policing in Newcastle West and it is just a crying shame what has happened, and I just hope he will get well," the councillor told the Irish Examiner (link is external).

Yesterday, the words of the bereaved partner of a rising cycling star who was killed in a collision on Ireland's roads back in May were shared in the Irish press as Seán Landers, whose partner Gabriele Glodenyte was killed in a collision with an oncoming driver, said the roads have become "like a war zone" for cyclists.

Landers had been on a training ride with Glodenyte and stopped at a different part of the road to where she was killed. Arriving on the scene moments later he recalled seeing a driver getting out of their car and Gabriele's bike "really messed up" and the cyclist nowhere to be seen.
"I saw her bike and it was really messed up," he said. "It was broken in a lot of places. But she was nowhere to be seen near the bike.

"There was a period of time when I was calling her name, searching for her, but she was nowhere to be seen. And then I saw her socks, upside down in the ditch. But I just didn't think it was going to be fatal. I thought okay, she might be unconscious here. So I just jumped into the ditch to hold her hand and tell her everything was going to be okay, that we'd get help, to reassure her, 'I'm with you'.

"But once I picked her hand up I could feel there was no life there. She had serious injuries... I kind of knew she was gone. But I started doing CPR on her. I didn't know what to do, I just didn't want to do nothing. And the ambulance people were on the phone and they were telling me to keep going. But when they arrived, they just basically took one look at her and... I don't think they even put a hand on her. They just said to me 'Look, that's it, unfortunately'."

Explaining his motivation for telling his story, Landers expressed his desire to see the devastating impact of road collisions laid bare, saying the roads are "like a war zone" for cyclists.

"I think that if I came across a random person in the ditch that day, I'd be messed up from that," he said. "And in the same way, if Gabriele died in her sleep, I'd also be messed up. When you combine the two of them together.... there are strange things going on in your head. The person you were going to spend the rest of your life with, gone in a heartbeat. No goodbyes."

https://road.cc/content/news/driver-admits-being-high-and-drunk-cyclist-collision-305067

On 14/11/2023 11:43 am, Simon Mason wrote:
> A cyclist whose foot was severed by a hit-and-run driver — who had smoked cannabis and got drunk at a pub before getting behind the wheel of a car and causing the serious collision which left the victim bleeding out, temporarily blind and with fractures to his spine, shoulder and ribs — has described the motorist's actions as "unforgivable and incomprehensible" as she pleaded guilty to numerous charges in court.
>
> Niamh McDonnell had smoked a cannabis joint on the morning of the collision, Extra.ie (link is external) reports, the court hearing how on finishing her shift at around 2.30pm she went to the pub and drank five vodkas, five shots of whiskey, as well as tequila. Turning down the offer of a lift home from a friend, the 30-year-old then left the pub in her mother-in-law's car and soon after hit off-duty garda Niall Flood from behind as he cycled on the R522 in Limerick.
>
> Mr Flood had been wearing safety clothing and was using a light, but was hit and thrown into a ditch, suffering life-changing injuries. Despite Mr Flood bleeding out, with several fractures and having been left temporarily blind, McDonnell did not assist him and drove home with a flat tyre and shattered windscreen, where her partner found Mr Flood's foot still wedged into the front of the vehicle and alerted the authorities.
>
> Limerick Circuit Court heard that a motorist who witnessed the hit-and-run was able to save the cyclist's life by making a tourniquet for his leg wound before he was airlifted to Cork University Hospital.
>
> McDonnell claimed she had only drunk one drink before leaving the pub, something disproved by CCTV footage and bar receipts. The hit-and-run driver will be sentenced on November 24, having pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm, driving while drunk, failing to stop at the scene, failing to provide assistance, and driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
>
> Mr Flood was unable to attend court due to his injuries, but a victim impact statement was read in which he said McDonnell's actions were "unforgivable and incomprehensible".
>
> In the days following the collision, it was revealed the air ambulance had arrived on the scene 12 minutes after being notified, and the fast response was praised by Mr Flood's friends and colleagues as helping to save his life.
>
> Liam Galvin, a Fine Gael councillor for Newcastle West, where Mr Flood is stationed, paid tribute to the cyclist, who he described as "an excellent Garda".
>
> "He is one of the good guys, and our thoughts are with him and his wife. He had big ideas and plans for policing in Newcastle West and it is just a crying shame what has happened, and I just hope he will get well," the councillor told the Irish Examiner (link is external).
>
> Yesterday, the words of the bereaved partner of a rising cycling star who was killed in a collision on Ireland's roads back in May were shared in the Irish press as Seán Landers, whose partner Gabriele Glodenyte was killed in a collision with an oncoming driver, said the roads have become "like a war zone" for cyclists.
>
> Landers had been on a training ride with Glodenyte and stopped at a different part of the road to where she was killed. Arriving on the scene moments later he recalled seeing a driver getting out of their car and Gabriele's bike "really messed up" and the cyclist nowhere to be seen.
> "I saw her bike and it was really messed up," he said. "It was broken in a lot of places. But she was nowhere to be seen near the bike.
>
> "There was a period of time when I was calling her name, searching for her, but she was nowhere to be seen. And then I saw her socks, upside down in the ditch. But I just didn't think it was going to be fatal. I thought okay, she might be unconscious here. So I just jumped into the ditch to hold her hand and tell her everything was going to be okay, that we'd get help, to reassure her, 'I'm with you'.
>
> "But once I picked her hand up I could feel there was no life there. She had serious injuries... I kind of knew she was gone. But I started doing CPR on her. I didn't know what to do, I just didn't want to do nothing. And the ambulance people were on the phone and they were telling me to keep going. But when they arrived, they just basically took one look at her and... I don't think they even put a hand on her. They just said to me 'Look, that's it, unfortunately'."
>
> Explaining his motivation for telling his story, Landers expressed his desire to see the devastating impact of road collisions laid bare, saying the roads are "like a war zone" for cyclists.
>
> "I think that if I came across a random person in the ditch that day, I'd be messed up from that," he said. "And in the same way, if Gabriele died in her sleep, I'd also be messed up. When you combine the two of them together... there are strange things going on in your head. The person you were going to spend the rest of your life with, gone in a heartbeat. No goodbyes."
>
> https://road.cc/content/news/driver-admits-being-high-and-drunk-cyclist-collision-305067

uk.rec.cycling !

Which part of Limerick or Cork is in thr UK?
>

JNugent <jnugent@mail.com> wrote:
> On 14/11/2023 11:43 am, Simon Mason wrote:

>> https://road.cc/content/news/driver-admits-being-high-and-drunk-cyclist-collision-305067

> uk.rec.cycling !

> Which part of Limerick or Cork is in the UK?

Doesn’t one of road.cc’s contributors come from Eire?

--
Spike

On 14/11/2023 01:34 pm, Spike wrote:

> JNugent <jnugent@mail.com> wrote:
>> On 14/11/2023 11:43 am, Simon Mason wrote:
>
>>> https://road.cc/content/news/driver-admits-being-high-and-drunk-cyclist-collision-305067
>
>> uk.rec.cycling !
>> Which part of Limerick or Cork is in the UK?
>
> Doesn’t one of road.cc’s contributors come from Eire?
Maybe (though the only correct one-word name for that country is "Ireland").

That doesn't change the charter of uk.r.c, though!

Good grief... no excuses

Unfortunately I'd say this shows up just how far you have to go before "excuses" start to sound hollow. Driving intoxicated is (mostly) seen as beyond the pale now, but do the same things without and that starts to be "accidents happen".

People have walked out of court free (or never gone there in the first place) having ticked many of those boxes (here's one).

Given our driveogenic environment I think we should be doing far more outside the legal system to reduce the incidence of this level of bad driving*. But the legal system has to be a part of that change.

* Examples: a new overall principle for travel infra (link is external) (replacing "maximum capacity for motor traffic consistent with safety"). Separate walking, cycling, and motor traffic infra provision where needed (link is external) and a massive reduction in motor traffic speeds / volumes where modes can mix. Treat a driving licence like any other licence to operate dangerous machines e.g. regular retesting of some kind and quicker recourse to suspending it or revoking it if conditions are broken. Parallel "Health and safety" type investigations into collisions (link is external) (just like we do for rail (link is external), air, and marine (link is external) incidents) looking at the bigger picture rather than legalistic "who is at fault".

On 14/11/2023 01:42 pm, Simon Mason wrote:

> Good grief... no excuses
>
> Unfortunately I'd say this shows up just how far you have to go before "excuses" start to sound hollow. Driving intoxicated is (mostly) seen as beyond the pale now, but do the same things without and that starts to be "accidents happen".
>
> People have walked out of court free (or never gone there in the first place) having ticked many of those boxes (here's one).
>
> Given our driveogenic environment I think we should be doing far more outside the legal system to reduce the incidence of this level of bad driving*. But the legal system has to be a part of that change.
>
> * Examples: a new overall principle for travel infra (link is external) (replacing "maximum capacity for motor traffic consistent with safety"). Separate walking, cycling, and motor traffic infra provision where needed (link is external) and a massive reduction in motor traffic speeds / volumes where modes can mix. Treat a driving licence like any other licence to operate dangerous machines e.g. regular retesting of some kind and quicker recourse to suspending it or revoking it if conditions are broken. Parallel "Health and safety" type investigations into collisions (link is external) (just like we do for rail (link is external), air, and marine (link is external) incidents) looking at the bigger picture rather than legalistic "who is at fault".

Were you *always* as self-centred and childish as you now do your best
to be?

mctrials23 | 1 hour ago
1 like

Another depressing article about drivers not giving a shit about cyclists. Lying to try and avoid punishment and hearing the same bollocks like "their victim had lights, helmet and a reflective jacket on" as if the absence of these things would justify driving like a complete cunt.

Whats the better that when it comes to trial the sentence will be pitiful because their victim didn't die (it wouldn't be much less than pitiful if they did) and that they will be given a reduced sentence because "they pled guilty and showed remorse"

Simon Mason <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:

> mctrials23 | 1 hour ago

> Whats the better that when it comes to trial the sentence will be pitiful
> because their victim didn't die (it wouldn't be much less than pitiful if
> they did) and that they will be given a reduced sentence because "they
> pled guilty and showed remorse"

What is this ‘pled’ of which you speak?

QUOTE Consider the past tense of plead. Pleaded is the formal past tense,
and it’s the one that style guides like The AP Stylebook and The Chicago
Manual of Style suggest. Since many respected media organizations follow
one of these two style guides, pleaded is the past tense form you’re most
likely to see in the news. In the highest court in the United States,
pleaded is the one used most often as well. UNQUOTE

Cyclists, eh?

--
Spike

On 14/11/2023 04:08 pm, Simon Mason wrote:

> mctrials23 | 1 hour ago
> 1 like
>
> Another depressing article about drivers not giving a shit about cyclists. Lying to try and avoid punishment and hearing the same bollocks like "their victim had lights, helmet and a reflective jacket on" as if the absence of these things would justify driving like a complete cunt.

What does that random stream of characters, loosely arranged so as to
resemble two sentences, actually *mean*?

> Whats the better

"What's the" WHAT?

> that when it comes to trial the sentence will be pitiful because their victim didn't die (it wouldn't be much less than pitiful if they did) and that they will be given a reduced sentence because "they pled guilty and showed remorse"

Are you quite alright in the head?

On 14/11/2023 04:54 pm, Spike wrote:
> Simon Mason <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> mctrials23 | 1 hour ago
>
>> Whats the better that when it comes to trial the sentence will be pitiful
>> because their victim didn't die (it wouldn't be much less than pitiful if
>> they did) and that they will be given a reduced sentence because "they
>> pled guilty and showed remorse"
>
> What is this ‘pled’ of which you speak?
>
> QUOTE Consider the past tense of plead. Pleaded is the formal past tense,
> and it’s the one that style guides like The AP Stylebook and The Chicago
> Manual of Style suggest. Since many respected media organizations follow
> one of these two style guides, pleaded is the past tense form you’re most
> likely to see in the news. In the highest court in the United States,
> pleaded is the one used most often as well. UNQUOTE
>
> Cyclists, eh?

Additionally, what's this "better" of which he/she speaks?

Avatar
brooksby replied to Left_is_for_Losers | 5 hours ago
3 likes

It's funny how often you hear, "But I only had one" when asked about their drinking following a collision.

Do people genuinely forget once they've had

Quote:

five vodkas, five shots of whiskey, as well as tequila

or are they actively lying and hoping they won't get caught out?

JNugent <jnugent@mail.com> wrote:
> On 14/11/2023 04:54 pm, Spike wrote:
>> Simon Mason <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> mctrials23 | 1 hour ago
>>
>>> Whats the better that when it comes to trial the sentence will be pitiful
>>> because their victim didn't die (it wouldn't be much less than pitiful if
>>> they did) and that they will be given a reduced sentence because "they
>>> pled guilty and showed remorse"
>>
>> What is this ‘pled’ of which you speak?
>>
>> QUOTE Consider the past tense of plead. Pleaded is the formal past tense,
>> and it’s the one that style guides like The AP Stylebook and The Chicago
>> Manual of Style suggest. Since many respected media organizations follow
>> one of these two style guides, pleaded is the past tense form you’re most
>> likely to see in the news. In the highest court in the United States,
>> pleaded is the one used most often as well. UNQUOTE

>> Cyclists, eh?

> Additionally, what's this "better" of which he/she speaks?

Who knows? I couldn’t get anything intelligible from reading that. I hope
whoever it was hadn’t been taking coke or was on the booze.

--
Spike

Avatar
wtjs replied to brooksby | 6 hours ago
7 likes

It's funny how often you hear, "But I only had one"

It's like "I gave you 1.5 metres", which this BMW nutter PK14 HLW claimed (when I caught him at the lights a few yards along), along with the threats to "fucking flatten" me, and "you will get knocked off". A couple of persistent months later the police said they'd "had a word with him". This was before they'd hit on the policy of never doing anything about anything.

https://cdn.road.cc/sites/default/files/styles/main_width/public/ClosePassBMW-7Aug21-0004_0.jpg

On 14/11/2023 06:12 pm, Simon Mason wrote:

> Avatar
> brooksby replied to Left_is_for_Losers | 5 hours ago

> It's funny how often you hear, "But I only had one" when asked about their drinking following a collision.

But irrespective of hiw many times you have heard it (are you a police
officer?), it simply doesn't matter how much one drinks after a collision.

It's only what one drinks before the collision which is of importance.
>
> Do people genuinely forget once they've had
> Quote:
> five vodkas, five shots of whiskey, as well as tequila
> or are they actively lying and hoping they won't get caught out?

Caught out for what?

It isn't illegal to drink alcohol and anyone distressed and in shock
from a collision could probably *do* with a brandy or two to calm their
nerves.

>Kudos to the bar for helping with all the evidence too and those who helped him.

Sorry, but I am going to have to disagree with you over this....It is up to the bar to ensure that people don't get too drunk and incapable. If they have sold them too much booze: at least in England & Wales, they can lose their licence.

If its the same in the Republic, then the bar owner has questions to answer including are they fit to hold a licence.
-------------------------------------
QUITE SO.