Bride-to-be killed by disqualified driver after shopping for wedding dress, court hears

Stephen Maguire

A bride-to-be was killed by a disqualified driver just hours after shopping for her dream wedding dress.

A court in Co Donegal has heard how Laura Connolly died after she was struck by a van which failed to stop on the outskirts of Lifford in the early hours of July 11th, 2021.

The driver of the van, Sean Connaughton, now 55, failed to stop at the scene on the N15 road at Townspark, Lifford.

The former firefighter, who was leasing a pub at the time of the incident, was already disqualified from driving for four years from April 10th, 2020, for not having insurance on a previous occasion.

He fled to his partner's home in Dundalk but presented himself at Letterkenny Garda Station the following day after hearing a woman had been killed.

Laura Connolly died after suffering horrific injuries when she was driven over by a white Citroen Berlingo van.

Letterkenny Circuit Court heard how Connolly, 34, had been out socialising with friends and had been lying on the road after laughing and joking with friends.

Just hours earlier, she had been out shopping for her wedding dress.

Connolly, a mother-of-one from Croaghan Heights in Lifford, had been due to marry her childhood sweetheart Joseph McCullagh whom she had been dating since she was just 16 years old.

Sean Connaughton, with an address at Doolargy Avenue, Dundalk, Co Louth, appeared in court where he had already pleaded to one charge of dangerous driving causing death.

He was then arraigned on three further charges of failing to keep a vehicle at the scene of an accident, driving without insurance and driving without a valid driving license.

Incident details

Garda Sergeant Eamon Roarty, of Milford Garda Station, outlined details of the incident to State Prosecutor Fiona Crawford.

Crawford read from several witness statements given to gardaí as part of their overall investigation.

The court was told that Connolly was amongst five women walking along a footpath at Townspark, Lifford when the incident occurred around 200m from the Three Coins roundabout.

One of Connolly's friends, Demi Carlin, said she had been in great spirits and had been laughing, dancing and singing and then lay on her back in the middle of the road with her head resting on the centre white line.

Carlin said the other women in the group had walked on and didn't realise that Ms Connolly was lying on the road.

The friend then said she heard a vehicle coming and was shouting at Laura to get back on the footpath, and was waving at her that something was coming.

Carlin said she noticed the van, coming from the direction of Castlefin, was going really fast and that she had thought the driver had tried to swerve to avoid her friend on the road.

The van drove over Connolly, failed to slow down and then drove off without stopping.

The other friends then turned around when they heard the noise of the impact.

Carlin thought the van was a Citroen Berlingo as her boyfriend had often shown her pictures of vans.

Evidence of statements given by other residents, including Rory Gallagher were also read out.

Gallagher said he heard laughing outside and got up for a smoke and "a nosey."

He heard a bang and thought someone had kicked a car, but went outside, realised what had happened and called 999 at 2.38am.

His father Martin, who had emergency services training, went outside and recognised Connolly and they both tried to perform CPR on her but could not find a pulse, and Martin Gallagher held Ms Connolly's hand in an effort to comfort her.

Details of statements given by Emmett McGavigan and his partner Aine who were near the scene of the incident in McGavigan's vehicle.

McGavigan said they saw a person lying on the road and then saw lights of a vehicle coming from the Castlefin direction and tried to flash his headlights at the oncoming vehicle up to 10 times.

McGavigan said his partner was freaking out, and she put her hands up to her face adding that the van was coming "right and fast."

He added that it didn't look like the van braked, it wobbled once it hit the person and drove off towards Lifford Bridge and on to Strabane.

He said he suddenly heard screaming but did not know who was screaming at that stage.

An ambulance arrived on the scene and took Connolly to Letterkenny University Hospital but she was pronounced dead at 4am.

The court was told that a medical report compiled by pathologist Dr Heidi Okkers said the cause of Connolly's death was as a result of blunt force traumatic injuries.

Connaughton presented himself to garda station

Crawford told how Connaughton presented himself at Letterkenny Garda Station the following day after hearing of the accident.

During interview, Connaughton denied being involved in any accident and said that he was a trained paramedic and that if he hit something he would have stopped.

Evidence was also given from Connaughton's personal iPhone of calls and texts being made before and after the time of the collision and that there was no reference to any incident.

There was also no attempt made to wash or clean Connaughton's Citroen Berlingo van before it was driven to the Garda station.

A subsequent forensic examination of the van, however, found DNA which was a match to Connolly.

The court also heard five victim impact statements from the family of Connolly and how their lives have changed forever since her horrific and untimely death.

The courtroom was stunned into silence as Laura's heartbroken mother Rosemary told how she had not only lost her only daughter but also her best friend.

She told how Laura lived just six doors from her and that they had spent so much time in recent months planning what would have been her daughter's perfect wedding.

Victim impact statements were also read out on behalf of Laura's dad Jimmy, brother James, son Jamie and fiancé Joseph McCullagh.

The court was told that Connaughton has 16 previous convictions including five under the Road Traffic Act, two under the Larceny Act and others connected to Covid regulations while operating a licensed premises.

Barrister for the accused, Colm Smyth, with Peter Nolan and instructed by solicitor Frank Dorrian, told the court that a verified threat had been made to Connaughton and his family and that is why he moved from Donegal.

Since the threat, Connaughton no longer had contact with his two adult children.

The accused took to the witness stand and said whatever he had to say to the Connolly family would be of no comfort to them.

He added that he can never imagine what they have suffered but said he was sorry from the bottom of his heart.

He added that he accepts he has to live with what he did every day, adding that if he had obeyed his driving ban "Laura would have been alive."

A reference from the Donegal Fire Service was handed into court which said Connaughton provided training and education to other firefighters in various skills and abilities while stationed in Glenties.

Smyth said his client had been placed at a moderate risk of reoffending by the Probation Services, given his previous convictions and non-compliance, but that he did acknowledge the tragic outcome of what had happened.

Smyth said his client was experiencing symptoms of prolonged psychological reaction and is receiving medication for anxiety and high blood pressure.

He added Connaughton has to live with what he did every day and that it will stay with him forever "while he is in this world" and "long after the sentence that will be imposed."

He has suffered the loss of any relationship with his own children, has also received a threat and has had to move away from his native Donegal.

Smyth asked Judge John Aylmer to consider all these factors and to deal with those as best he could.

Judge Aylmer said he will take time to consider all matters and adjourned final sentencing until next week.

The accused was released on continuing bail.