Cork woman killed in car being driven by drunk friend died from brain injury
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A mother of two killed in an SUV driven by her drunk friend in a Cork suburb died from a brain injury due to lack of oxygen and multi-organ failure following a heart attack.
Sheila Dunne, a special needs assistant (SNA), had been in a car driven by her friend Jennifer Thomas, who was sentenced to four years in jail for dangerous driving causing death last month.
Thomas, aged 46, a former model and business owner, had consumed 12 alcoholic drinks before she crashed her sports utility vehicle (SUV) which mounted a ditch in Glanmire, Cork, on February 11.
Ms Dunne, aged 50, an SNA at Watergrasshill NS, died in hospital following the crash.
Pathologist Dr Margot Bolster gave Ms Dunne’s cause of death as hypoxic ischaemic brain injury and multi organ failure.
She had also suffered a cardiac arrest.
Ms Dunne was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash but Thomas was.
Ms Dunne’s family did not attend Thursday’s inquest at Cork Coroner’s Court.
Coroner Philip Comyn told a family liaison officer who attended court that the family could now request a death certificate.
Thomas, of 10 Oakfield View, Glanmire, Cork, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death earlier this year.
The charge stated that on February 11, at L2973, Sarsfield Court, Glanmire, she drove in a manner that was dangerous to the public thereby causing the death of Ms Dunne.
In November, she was jailed for four years and banned from driving for 10 years.
Judge Helen Boyle told Cork Circuit Criminal Court that Thomas had been “overcome with remorse” that her sustained poor driving resulted in the single vehicle crash that killed her friend, who was a passenger in her SUV.
Judge Boyle said that Ms Dunne’s death was “entirely preventable” and that no sentence could bring justice for Ms Dunne’s family.
She praised Ms Dunne's daughter Lilley Dunne, 23, for her victim impact statement and for taking on the care of her younger brother, TJ, who has autism and is non-verbal.
Lilley and TJ have been left with no parents as their father, Sheila's husband Ted, died in 2021.
The anniversary of the death of Ms Dunne’s much-loved late husband was around the time of the fatal crash.
“It is not a crime to go out with your friend [and have a few drinks] but it is a crime to get behind wheel of the car. You could have had a designated driver or taxi or a bus or walked. Unfortunately, you sealed the fate of the passenger in that car, Ms Sheila Dunne.
“Alcohol is an aggravating factor and the sustained period of poor driving including a request from one person who knocked on your window and indicated you should pull in and park,” Judge Helen Boyle said.
Judge Boyle imposed a sentence of five years with the last year suspended at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.