A former Moldovan policeman living in Cavan has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for causing a serious crash near Carrickmacross in 2019.
His car veered off the road on a left hand bend on the R179 and collided with a woman and her daughter who were travelling in the opposite direction.
It's believed 49 year old Ion Stratan, with an address at Lower Main Street, Kingscourt fell asleep at the wheel at around 5pm on August 17th 2019 and collided head on with the car of Sylvia Reilly and her daughter.
Ms Reilly was airlifted to Tallaght Hospital with serious injuries to her legs, while her daughter was brought to Drogheda with a fracture in her spine.
The Court heard that Ion Stratan made full admissions, but couldn't recall how the collision happened.
He had pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm.
The Court was told he'd been drinking until 6am that morning with his partner, and slept in his car after a row.
He was returning from Carrickmacross at the time of the collision and was described as being "tired and emotional" in every sense.
In her victim impact statement, Sylvia Reilly outlined how she lost her independence because of her injuries and it took the cooperation of friends and family to get her to her many hospital appointments.
She added that although she's never met the accused, she was sure he suffered and would have enough to live with, without a prison sentence - something Judge John Aylmer noted was a sign of her charitable nature.
The judge said the presence of alcohol in his system along with previous convictions for drink driving were aggravating factors to be considered.
He also noted that he was co-operative, a hard working person both in Ireland and his native Moldova and was "undoubtedly remorseful" for his actions.
Ion Stratan was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, and was disqualified from driving for ten years.
