A 62-year-old man has been jailed for two years after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of an eight-year-old boy in Cork in 2023.
André Castro Ladeiro was cycling with his parents and younger brother when he was struck by a Ford Ranger pickup truck at a pedestrian crossing outside Carrigaline in August 2023.
In an emotional victim impact statement André Castro Ladeiro’s parents outlined how their son’s death affected them.
His mother Filipa said she still expects to see him walking through the door of their home.
His father Cesar described seeing the crash, it’s aftermath and only realising later how serious it was by the faces of the people around him.
John Moynihan of Parkanillane, Kilnamartyra, Macroom Co Cork had previously pleaded guilty to the single charge.
Garda Dinah Birnbaum told the court Moynihan had failed to stop at a red traffic light at a pedestrian crossing after exiting a roundabout and had collided with the young boy.
Defence senior counsel Jane Hyland said her client took full responsibility and had told Gardaí at interview he can’t image what the family are going through and wakes up every night and sees the boy’s picture on RIP.ie.
In a written statement issued through their solicitor, Andre’s parents asked whether the outcome takes into account all the suffering caused.
They ask if this is what people want for justice in the 21st century in Ireland and whether the outcome is in any way proportional to the life of a child who had so much to live and so much to share.
