A man who was disqualified from driving when he overtook another vehicle at speed that resulted in a head-on collision with another car, seriously injuring three people in Loughrea, has been jailed for two years.

Jose Reginaldo Ferreira Neto (28) was driving at an estimated speed of 91 kilometres per hour in a 50km/h zone when the collision occurred in a built-up area on the Gort Road on October 9, 2021, Galway Circuit Criminal Court heard.

Ferreira Neto, with addresses at Bride Street, Loughrea, and Herders Lodge, Earlspark, Loughrea, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm and use of a false instrument.

The court was told Frank Keleghan was exiting the car-park of an area known as the Duck Pond and turning back towards Loughrea when a Volkswagen Golf driven by the accused overtook another car and collided head-on with Mr Keleghan’s car.

Camera footage, taken from a nearby residence and played in court, showed the impact of the crash and Mr Keleghan’s vehicle being pushed backwards.

The road was closed for three hours, and fire crews had to remove the parties from the cars, including the accused’s wife, who was a front seat passenger.

Garda Austin Marron told prosecuting counsel, Brendan McDonagh BL, Mr Keleghan suffered a broken wrist, broken toes, a broken leg and underwent eleven months of rehabilitation.

Ferreira Neto required five surgical procedures for a spinal injury and a broken jaw, the court heard.

Garda Marron said the speed limit in the area was 50km/h and a forensic collision impact report estimated Ferreira Neto’s speed at 91 km/h at impact.

The court was told overtaking signs were visible on the road and both drivers later tested negative for alcohol and drugs.

Garda Marron said that sight lines at the turn are “not great” and had been raised on a number of occasions with the local authority.

Garda Marron said that in March 2021 at Loughrea District Court, Ferreira Neto was disqualified from driving for one year for driving or attempting to drive while exceeding the alcohol limit.

The court was told he successfully applied to have the disqualification postponed until September.

Gardaí discovered Ferreira Neto was also using a fraudulent insurance disk purchased through social media. The accused also admitted registering the vehicle in his partner’s name without her knowledge.

Defence barrister, Garry McDonald BL, told the court his client offers a “sincere apology” and through is signed guilty plea and further apology is genuinely remorseful.

Mr McDonald asked the court to note his client’s strong work history and his completion of a pro-social driving course.

He said it is “very lucky that all parties are still alive” and his client has no explanation for what happened.

“This is a young man who made a terrible, terrible mistake”, counsel added.

Judge Brian O’Callaghan said the accused pleaded guilty to a “troubling case of driving” due to the background to the incident.

He said Neto knew he was disqualified, knew the disqualification had been postponed and supported his decision to breach a court order by taking out false insurance.

“All of this was in his immediate recollection. This was not something of the distant past. It was immediate……He clearly decided to continue to drive despite that disqualification”, he added.

The aggravating factors included the speed, the overtaking manoeuvre and the impact on the victim.

Judge O’Callaghan said the court also took into account the accused’s age, his work ethic, strong family unit and that he is deemed to be at a low risk of reoffending.

However he said the court’s view was that an immediate custodial sentence was warranted. The judge set a headline sentence of five years, a post-mitigation sentence of three and a half years with the final 18 months suspended on conditions.

These include the payment of €10,000 to the victim within three years of the date of his release.

Judge O’Callaghan also imposed the mandatory four-year driving ban.

Funded by Courts Reporting Scheme.