Ms Obalek-Owestrowska was not in court but in her victim impact statement, which Judge O Donnabhain read from, she outlined the impact that the death of her brother, a Jehovah Witness, had on her, describing him as “a warm, patient, understanding man”.
He said that Power McCarthy made himself available to gardaí for interview and had co-operated fully with them while he also confirmed that Power McCarthy had no previous convictions of any kind and had not come to garda attention since the fatal collision. Defence counsel, Michael Collins SC pleaded for leniency, reminding Judge O Donnabhain that there were no drugs or drink involved in causing the crash and that his client had no previous convictions and he urged him to deal with the matter by way of a non-custodial sentence.