Motorist who was rear-ended is acquitted of careless driving at Kildare court

A WOMAN whose car was rear-ended but was still charged with careless driving was found not guilty this week.

“The burden of proof is very high, but I have doubts, and those are of reason and substance,” said Judge Desmond Zaidan in summation.

“The distance between the cars and whether he was looking out enough at the time, so I’m afraid the state has not proven its case and I find the accused not guilty,” he ruled.

Naas District Court was hearing a case brought against 55-year-old Assou Angina Aka, Strokestown Road, Longford for careless driving on the R148 (old Dublin Road) between Kilcock and Enfield at Killeighter near the Old Bog Road on the night of 3 December 2022.

From the off, her barrister Aran Grealish sought a strike out on account of the delay in bringing the case to trial, but Judge Zaidan said he wanted to hear the evidence.

Garda Laura McGrath told the court that Ms Aka stopped the car in the middle of the road because “she thought she hit something, but we searched and found nothing”.

Then, a BMW being driven by an Adam Callaghan rammed her in the rear, writing off that vehicle.

The court heard how a third car carrying four other members of the Callaghan family was immediately behind the BMW but was able to control its stop without any damage.

Garda McGrath explained that the night was wet and that Ms Aka – a social care worker in Stewart Care in Palmerstown – said she was travelling at 75kph on a stretch where the limit is 80kph.

Garda McGrath admitted to Mr Grealish that there was no CCTV and that she had not taken any photos at the scene but had collected six statements from the two following cars, who were returning home from a family day trip to Wales.

Judge Zaidan noted that the lack of photos from the scene was “very unusual”.

Mr Grealish then revealed that Mr Callaghan was also taking action against Ms Aka in civil court, as was his passenger seat fiancée, and that she was also suing Mr Callaghan. He also pointed that – although she was listed as a witness – she was asleep at the time of the impact and therefore would not be called as she had seen nothing but the aftermath of the crash.

“Adam Callaghan believed he was doing 80kph, but his brother Declan didn’t crash into Adam because he was maintaining a safe distance,” said Mr Grealish.

“What did she do that was careless? I have to get over that point,” said Mr Grealish.

“She was not a learner, it was a straight stretch and she jumped on the brakes for no reason,” said Garda McGrath.

“What caused the domino effect? The one, two, three?” asked the judge, but was clarified by Sergeant Dave Hanrahan, who told him: “It wasn’t a domino (collision)”.

“Adam Callaghan caused this because he was travelling too fast,” said Mr Grealish.

“If he was keeping a proper lookout and a safe distance, could that person not have avoided the collision? I have to ask the question,” noted the judge.

“If you’re 50-60m behind you should be able to stop, but if you’re one or two car lengths behind, that’s going to be more difficult,” he added.

“She said she hit something, but we found nothing,” said Garda McGrath.

“Sometimes you can hit an animal and it crawls off to die,” said the judge.

Mr Grealish then handed in photos taken by Ms Aka’s insurers from the repair garage that seemed to indicate some impact on the front bumper, but the provenance of these was argued by Sgt Hanrahan for the state.

Mr Callaghan took the stand, and when Mr Grealish asked him to estimate how far behind Ms Aka’s car he was, he said: “40m, about the length of the courtroom.”

Mr Grealish got out the Rules of the Road and pointed that at 80kph in dry conditions the recommended stopping distance was 52m, but in the wet it was 81m.

“The gap wasn’t ideal, is what counsel is trying to say,” said the judge.

Ms Aka then took the stand and said she drove every day to Palmerstown from Longford since 2018, but on the night in question had pulled off the motorway to go to the African shop in Maynooth, but it was closed.

“I was controlling my speed because there are usually speed vans on this road,” she said.

“There was a hard bang, and when the car behind me hit, I kept moving, but I pulled over into the hard shoulder,” she said.

The Callaghans from the third car had got out and walked in front, and Ms Aka testified: “I saw two people walking towards my car and I though I might have hit them.”

She also testified she made “numerous attempts” to give a statement to Garda McGrath but was told to just go into Longford Station to do so.

“The driver behind was driving too fast so it was his fault,” she said.

“There was no reason whatsoever to brake,” said the sergeant.

“Even if she stops in the middle of the road, if he hits her, he was going too fast,” said Mr Grealish.

“The minimum safe distance was 81m, and Mr Callaghan accepted he wasn’t driving that safe distance,” he added.

“The evidence is in no way sufficient to prove, and so the court must acquit,” he said, and Judge Zadan ruled as outlined.