A 25 year old father of one has been jailed for five years for dangerous driving causing the death of a toddler in the Phoenix Park.
Ciaran Lane of Ashington Avenue, Cabra in Dublin drank a litre of vodka and took two grams of cocaine before he knocked her down.
The girl's mother said she hopes her death will be a strong message to never drink or take drugs while driving.
In her victim impact statement, Katarzyna Siatka described the moment a beautiful sunny day at the Phoenix Park with her daughter turned into a nightmare.
It was just after 6pm on Easter Monday last year. One moment we were happy and playing, she said. The next, I could just hear loud music and a loud engine.
Anyone thinking of driving under the influence needs to read this. Victim was almost 2. Driver drunk and on drugs pic.twitter.com/56Jkg4g92I
— Frank Greaney (@FrankGreaney) April 19, 2016
Venessa, who was just shy of her second birthday, didn’t stand a chance as Ciaran Lane’s green Toyota Corolla crashed into her at speed, dragging her underneath for a short distance.
She didn’t die straight away, but her mother knew she was gone. She said her last goodbye as a tear rolled down her daughter’s face.
Lane, who’s 25, didn’t stop but handed himself into Gardai less than an hour later. He was well over the limit and had cocaine in his system.
Given his behaviour, Judge Patrick McCartan described Venessa’s death as “inevitable but avoidable”. Ciaran Lane who sobbed uncontrollably throughout today’s hearing, was jailed for five years.
