Two teen best friends were laid next to each other ‘holding hands’ after they died in a horror 75mph crash on their way to their school leavers ball, a court was told.
Kiea McCann, 17 and Dlava Mohamed, 16, died after the car they were travelling in, crashed into a tree in County Monahan, Ireland on July 31, 2023.
Anthony McGinn, 61, who was put in a ‘position of trust’ to drive the two young girls to the Debs ball in Monaghan Town, has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing their deaths.
He also confessed to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm to Dlava’s sister, Alva Mohammed, during the same incident.
Monaghan Circuit Court heard how McGinn ignored the girls pleas to ‘slow down’ as he drove at nearly double the speed of a 50mph zone.
His car, a white BMW then careered and collided with a tree on the N54 at around 75mph in the Legnakelly area, killing the two girls and injuring another.
It was also heard that front passenger Oisin Clerkin has asked McGinn to ‘slow down’, but the driver did not respond.
‘He was driving really fast and it scared me. None of the girls said anything. Kiea looked scared. I said ‘Goodbye’ to Kiea and I woke up in hospital,’ he told Gardai in a statement.
Upsetting scenes unraveled at the sentencing as family and friends of the two girls were shown footage of their final moments where the car was involved in the horror crash.
Anthony McGinn, 60, of Drumloo, Newbliss, County Monaghan, pleaded guilty to several charges including dangerous driving causing death and serious bodily harm
Kiea McCann (left), 17, and Dlava Mohamed (right), 16, died after the car they were travelling to their school leavers ball in left the N54 and crashed into a tree in the Legnakeely area on July 31 2023
The incident took place on a stretch of the N54 between Clones and Smithborough on 31 July between 6.15pm and 7pm
The court was told McGinn was shown dashcam footage showed of the horror crash after his arrest and confessed that he had ‘no answer’ and did not ‘know what speed [he] was doing.
Following this, there was an outburst from Kiea’s father, Frankie who, according to the Irish Mirror said: ‘If this man won’t send you down. I’ll never forget you, you fu**ing b**tard.’
Family’s read aloud their impact statements, with Kiea’s mother Teresa sharing how she had ‘trusted’ the 61-year-old to take her child to the Deb’s Ball safely.
‘When we got to the scene, Kiea was already gone. Her dad tried CPR on her. Nothing would bring her back,’ she said.
‘Kiea and her best friend were robbed of their lives. They were put side by side holding hands on the grass as me and my husband lay beside them.’
Her heartbroken mother revealed that Kiea’s 18th birthday present was her headstone, as the family had been left with only memories and pictures of the teen.
Kiea’s father, Frankie, who tried revive the two teenagers at the scene of the crash, described his child as a ‘gift from God’.
At the sentencing, he spoke of his heartbreak Kiea never being able to experience getting married or having her own family, describing her passing as a ‘death sentence’ for their family.
Dlava’s father, who had brought his family from war-scarred Syria to Ireland, said his daughter’s dreams had died with her, adding that he lost a piece of all of his children on that fateful day, as well as his heart.
He asserted that he wanted the most severe punishment for McGinn, adding that he wanted ‘justice, not revenge’.
A cortege of motorbikes and cars followed the hearse carrying the white coffin as it moved slowly through the town on August 1, 2023
Hundreds of people formed a guard of honour as the hearse carrying the remains of Kiea McCann passed through Clones on August 1, 2023
Dlava’s sister, who had experienced severe injuries in the collision, said the incident had forever changed the trajectory of her life, explaining her sister had been accompanying her to the Deb’s ball.
Recalling the crash, Alva said she had told McGinn to ‘stop’ before ‘everything went black’. She told the court that she had not known the two teenagers were dead for months.
Breffni Gordon, mitigating, told the court McGinn was seriously injured in the collision, and was remoresful.
They also added that the driver had apologised to the victims’ families and he had entered an early guilty plea.
McGinn also lost his job, income as well as his relationship with his wife and children, the court was told.
Sentencing is due to take place next Wednesday at May 14.
