Man (22) who left scene of crash while his friend lay dead in passenger seat is jailed

By Isabel Hayes and Sonya McLean

A man who crashed a car at speed into the back of an articulated lorry and walked away from the scene while his friend lay dead in the passenger seat has been jailed for six and a half years.

The car, which was driven by Jake Kelly (now 22), was trapped underneath the lorry trailer in the wake of the crash, which occurred in July 2023.

The passenger side of the car was covered in hot tar, which poured out of the back of the articulated lorry upon impact, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard on Tuesday.

Emergency responders who arrived at the scene were not aware there was a passenger in the car, and the body of the dead young man, Ross Rice (22), was only discovered a couple of hours after the crash.

Neighbours described hearing a “massive explosion” in the wake of the crash, which caused their windows to shake.

Kelly was helped out of the driver's seat by the truck driver in the immediate aftermath of the accident and then walked away from the scene.

He later told gardaí he wasn't sure if his friend had got out of the car and that he thought he might have been in the fields nearby.

The two friends were going hunting that night and two lurcher dogs were later found in the boot of the car.

The speedometer of the car was found stopped at 162km/hour. The speed limit of the road was 60km/h at the time due to ongoing roadworks.

Kelly, of Ballyfermot Road, Ballyfermot, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to one count of dangerous driving causing the death of Mr Rice at Dublin Road, Celbridge, Co Kildare on July 18th, 2023.

He also pleaded guilty to failing to report an accident and driving without insurance on the same date. He was on bail at the time for other offences which were later struck out, the court heard. He had no driving licence.

A number of Mr Rice's family and friends were in court for the sentence. Four victim impact statements were previously handed into court, but not read aloud.

Sentencing Kelly on Tuesday, Judge Martina Baxter said the facts of the case were “harrowing, tragic and distressing”.

She noted the victim's mother died in 2020 and victim impact statements from the family outlined how they had “lost the heart of the family twice in two years”.

Mr Rice had an 11-month-old baby with his partner when he was killed.

“The sentence handed down today can't alleviate the pain, loss and devastation of the Rice family,” the judge said.

She said it was “ironic” that Mr Rice had himself been banned from driving and that Kelly then drove his car in his stead, without a driving licence.

She noted the death of Mr Rice “was as a consequence of the driving of Mr Kelly” who was driving at “such speed” he had no time to brake before hitting the truck, which was stationary at temporary traffic lights.

She said he didn't alert anyone at the scene as to the presence of Mr Rice in the passenger seat, but instead left. As a result, “considerable resources” were put into locating Kelly, including air support.

“If they had known there was a fatality at the scene, they might have helped at an earlier stage,” the judge said. However she noted that it was clear that Mr Rice's death was “catastrophic and fatal” as a result of the collision.

The court heard that while there was no toxicology report as a result of Kelly leaving the scene, he later told a psychologist he had been smoking cannabis earlier that day.

She accepted Kelly is genuinely remorseful for causing the death of his friend. He visits his grave regularly. His personality has completely changed and he has been diagnosed with a major depressive disorder, the court heard.

The judge handed down a sentence of seven and a half years and suspended the final year on a number of conditions, including that Kelly engage with the Probation Service.

She disqualified him from driving for eight years and ordered that he undergo a speed awareness programme prior to applying for a new licence.

There was no reaction in court or from Kelly when the sentence was handed down.

At a previous sentence hearing, Garda Jennifer Finnegan told Tessa White BL, prosecuting, that gardaí responded to reports of a crash at around 10:40pm that night.

The court heard the driver of the articulated lorry was carrying out road works, had just picked up fresh tarmacadam and was stopped at temporary traffic lights when he noticed a car driving at speed behind him.

The Toyota Avensis, driven by Kelly, crashed into the back of the lorry trailer, causing it to be shunted forward by 1.4 metres. The car was trapped under the trailer and the crash caused tarmacadam to pour on top of the passenger side of the vehicle.

The truck driver immediately went to the driver side of the car and managed to pull Kelly out of the car. He left momentarily to ring gardai and when he returned to the scene, Kelly was gone. Kelly did not sustain any serious injuries in the crash, the court heard.

He was arrested a couple of days later and told gardaí he caught a taxi to his mother's house after the crash. He said he went to his cousin's home to smoke some cannabis and then rang Mr Rice's sister and girlfriend to tell them he had been involved in a crash.

The court heard Mr Rice died of blunt force head and chest injuries. His death was instantaneous, the court heard. A backpack containing torches and whistles was found in the car, as well as a small amount of cannabis. The dogs were taken to a vet hospital.

Gda Finnegan agreed with David Staunton BL, defending, that there were no eye witnesses to the collision. She accepted that Mr Rice was the owner of the car but, because he was disqualified from driving at the time, Kelly was driving for him.

Kelly assisted gardaí with the search of his home and indicated through his mother where officers would find the clothing he was wearing that night along with his phone.

Gda Finnegan agreed that Kelly demonstrated “genuine upset” during his garda interview and that he has complied with all his bail conditions.

Mr Staunton said Kelly wished to express his condolences to the family of Ross Rice. He said his client accepts that he is at fault for the accident and he is “deeply remorseful and shameful about it”.