A mum-of-two was killed in a car crash while being driven by her friend, a former model who had consumed 12 alcoholic beverages including cocktails, prosecco, wine and gin.
Sheila Dunne, 50, died following a single vehicle crash in Glanmire, Cork, last February, with her friend Jennifer Thomas behind the wheel of the car.
The special needs assistant, who had lost her husband Ted to Covid in February 2021, was just 1.5 km from her home in Glanmire when the crash occurred. Thomas, also from Glanmire, appeared before Cork Circuit Criminal Court on Tuesday having pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of Ms Dunne on February 11 this year.
Defence counsel Tom Creed, SC, told Judge Helen Boyle that “unfounded social media rumours” and inaccurate newspaper reports had circulated in the wake of the crash. He said that “malicious rumours” had spread in Cork that the body of Sheila Dunne had been moved in the vehicle.
Investigating garda Dt Garda Mark Durcan confirmed that there was no truth to any suggestions that Jennifer Thomas or any other person had moved the body of Sheila Dunne following the crash. Detective Garda Durcan said that the accident occurred at 7.30pm on February 11 last at Sarsfield Court in Glanmire in Cork.
Ms Thomas had been socialising with Sheila, her friend of over 20 years, from lunchtime that day when they went for a meal at a restaurant in Douglas in the city. They went to a bar in Blackrock in Cork and then on to a bar in Glanmire prior to getting in to Jennifer’s Jeep.
Dt Garda Durcan said that in the minutes before the crash occurred Jennifer fell asleep behind the wheel twice while stopped at traffic lights. On one occasion a passer by observed that Thomas was asleep and knocked on the window of the Jeep telling her to park up, reported the Irish Mirror.
Instead she did two U turns in a matter of minutes and drove on the wrong side of the road at Hazelwood Road in Glanmire. She knocked down traffic cones as she drove towards Sallybrook and narrowly missed knocking down two pedestrians on the footpath.
Dt Garda Durcan said that Thomas took a left hand bend at Sarsfield Court in Glanmire and failed to straighten up entering a grass verge. The Bluetooth system in the car automatically called the emergency services. Speed was not a factor in the case.
Dt Garda Durcan said that Thomas was wearing her seat beat when the collision occurred but Ms Dunne was not. He indicated that the impact of the collision led Ms Dunne, who was in the front passenger seat, to fall on top of Thomas and that roof had to be cut off the vehicle in order to extricate the women.
He stated that when gardai arrived at the scene Thomas was asked who was driving. She said that she was and then she “got erratic” and was unable to give a definitive answer. She then said that Ms Dunne was driving as she had “more control.”
When she was shown CCTV at a later date by gardai, Thomas accepted that she was driving. She also said said she had no recollection of the collision due to concussion but there was no medical evidence that she had this condition. Ms Dunne died in hospital two days after the crash.
Lilley Dunne, 23, said in a victim impact statement that she came to court with a “shattered heart” weighed down heavily by the loss of her “rock of a mother” Sheila. Lilley said she would forever miss her precious mother whom she described as a “pillar” in the community. She said that she was speaking on behalf of herself and her younger brother.
“I stand before you today as his voice and to outline the devastation we have both endured. I want to try and express as vividly as I can how this tragic event has destroyed my life, my brother’s world and and our family unit as we know it,” she said.
Lilley said that she and her brother head already suffered the “unbearable” loss of their father Ted. “Now to experience the agonising loss of Mom, feels like a cruel twist of fate that I cannot comprehend,” she continued. “On February 9, 2021 my dad died unexpectedly from Covid. We had to watch him take his last few breaths as they removed his ventilator, and then on February 13, 2024 I had to watch this all over again: watch my Mom’s heart slow to a halt.
“This experience is what I can only describe as hell. My beautiful Mom was taken from us far too soon at the young age of fifty. In a car crash caused by a reckless decision made by a selfish individual. This choice has altered our lives forever. We spent two days at my mom’s bedside hoping for a miracle. Out of respect, I made the decision to allow Jennifer to come in to say goodbye to my Mom. Knowing what I know now my decision would have been different.”
Ms Dunne said that Jennifer’s absence of remorse had made the “grieving process so much more challenging”. She stated: “It is incredibly painful to know that someone who withhold the truth in such a devastating way and it makes it harder to heal from this loss.”
Lilley said that her mother would miss all the special milestones of her life such as her wedding and watching her become a mother. Ms Dunne insisted that Jennifer’s “malicious lies” trickled out to the “media vultures”.
She said: “Compounding our grief. Newspapers and social media outlets covered the story and reported that my Mom was the driver of the car. Jennifer’s complete fabrication painted a picture of my Mom, Sheila, that was far from the truth sensationalising the tragedy and worsening our family suffering.”
Ms Dunne added that the life of her mother was “robbed” from her. “She has only started to live her life again after Dad’s passing. She will never get the opportunity to finish her bucket list, to see out the drams she had for her future or to watch TJ and I grow up,” she said.
Sheila’s mother Esther O’Brien said that she was “heartbroken” to have lost her daughter to a drink driver. “This loss has not only shattered my life but has also left two precious grandchildren without their mother,” she said. “My daughter was my biggest support. She was always there for me, providing love, care and companionship. We shared a deep bond, and she was my confidante, my source of strength.
“Losing her has taken away my main support system at a time in my life when I need it most. This is something no mother could anticipate. I grapple with anger and sadness – not just for my daughter but also for the reckless choice that led to this loss. It is hard to trust and feel safe in the world when someone’s selfish decision has had such devastating consequences.
“My daughter was not only my child but my life source. Her absence has changed everything for me and for my grandchildren. Only for them life is not worth living. I will carry this pain with me for the rest of my life.”
The court heard that Ms Thomas had ten previous convictions for road traffic offences, larceny and misuse of drugs. Defence barrister Tom Creed, SC, said that his client’s previous convictions for larceny and misuse of drugs occurred when she was a teenager.
He emphasised that witnesses who arrived at the scene of the crash described his client as being distraught at the possibility that Sheila could have died. He stated: “(One eye witness) said she (Jennifer) was saying ‘please wake up please wake up’ to Miss Dunne. They tried to calm her. She (Jennifer) was saying ‘How can I live without her?” She was concerned for her friend. She (Jennifer) was hysterical. She was saying ‘look after Sheila.’ She appeared to be confused.”
He said that unfortunately following this accident all sorts of “unfounded allegations” circulated in Cork. He continued: “One was that a phone call was made for someone to come to scene to move bodies. One was that she (Ms Thomas) was arrested for a charge of perverting course of justice which was never case. She voluntarily came to the station.”
Mr Creed said that his client has suffered from long term mental health difficulties and often wishes that she died during the crash. He added that Thomas was hugely remorseful for her actions and that his client accepted that getting behind the wheel drunk was an “outrageous” thing to do.
Judge Boyle offered her sincere condolences to the family of the deceased. She said that the family had painted a “wonderful picture” of Sheila. Judge Boyle reserved her decision in the case with sentencing to take place on Thursday and Thomas was remanded in custody having been warned that she was facing a custodial sentence.
Meanwhile, other charges faced by Ms Thomas including one count of drink driving and three counts of dangerous driving, will remain at the district court as they are deemed to be summary charges. The summary charges consist of allegations that Ms Thomas was under the influence of an intoxicant to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of the vehicle at Sarsfield Court, dangerous driving at Hazelwood Road, Sarsfield Court and Sallybrook, and falling to produce her drivers licence.
