Man jailed for seven years for causing deaths of teen girls while driving them to Debs ball
Best friends Kiea McCann (17) and Dlava Mohammed (16) were killed in the road crash in Monaghan on July 31, 2023
Best friends Kiea McCann (17) and Dlava Mohammed (16) were killed in the road crash in Monaghan on July 31, 2023.The teenagers and two other students, including Dlava’s sister Avin, were being driven to their debs ball by family friend, Anthony McGinn, when he crashed into a tree.McGinn (62), of Drumloo in Monaghan, was today jailed having pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the deaths of the two teenage girls.Speaking outside court following McGinn’s sentencing, Kiea’s mother, Teresa McCann, said that there was “no justice” for what happened.“Seven years, that’s the justice here. Two beautiful girls.“This is my daughter Kiea,” Ms McCann said, holding a picture of Kiea aloft.“And this is what we got, seven years today.“There is no justice for this. My child’s life is gone and never coming back.”Anthony McGinn.Mr McGinn had also admitted to a further charge of dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm to Avin Mohammed.Monaghan Circuit Court last week heard that McGinn was travelling at speeds of up to 151 km/h on the night of the fatal collision.Evidence was also given that he had ignored the pleas of his passengers to slow down before he crashed along the N54 at Legnakelly, near Clones.This morning Judge John Aylmer said that McGinn showed a reckless disregard and drove at grossly reckless speed, while breaching the trust placed in him to drive the teenagers to their debs.Kiea McCann and Dlava MohamedHe said the offending was the upper end of the scale and said it warranted a headline sentence of nine years.Judge Aylmer said he was taking into account mitigating factors including the guilty plea, and sentenced McGinn to a total of seven years imprisonment.He was also banned from driving for 15 years.Judge Aylmer said that McGinn showed a reckless disregard and drove at grossly reckless speed, while breaching the trust placed in him to drive the teenagers to their debs.“In driving the manner in which you did, you committed an extraordinary breach of that trust placed in you,” Judge Aylmer told him.Other aggravating factors were that he ignored the angry pleas of his passengers to desist from speeding, and that he was driving at nearly twice the speed limit on a wet road in dangerous conditions.The judge also said that the devastating impact of McGinn’s actions, resulting in the loss of two young lives and life-altering injuries to Avin Mohammed, add to the aggravation in this case.Judge Aylmer said the maximum sentence he could impose was one of ten years’ imprisonment, and set a headline sentence of nine years.The judge said mitigating factors were the absence of relevant previous convictions, his cooperation with gardaí, and his guilty pleasJudge Aylmer said the argument was put forward by McGinn’s defence counsel that he also suffered serious injuries, but said this provided little mitigation as they were self-imposed.He sentenced the defendant to seven years imprisonment on both counts, to run concurrently, and also banned him from driving for 15 years,News in 90 Seconds - May 14thMohammed Mohammed, Dlava’s father, said in his victim impact statement last week that his daughter was a piece of his heart, and that he would carry the pain of her loss for the rest of his life.Kiea’s father, Franky McCann, said that his daughter was a “gift from God” and said that what happened to their family has been a death sentence.Dlava’s sister, Avin, told gardaí that she “got angry” and that she’d asked McGinn to slow down when he began speeding, before everything went black.She also said she had no idea for months that her sister and Kiea had died.The fourth passenger, Oisin Clerkin, said he had told McGinn to slow down but that the driver didn’t reply.He also told how he turned to Kiea after the collision and said "goodbye" and then "woke up in hospital".
