Driver who knocked down child (3) at pedestrian crossing tested positive for cannabis

Isabel Hayes

A driver who tested positive for cannabis knocked down a three-year-old child as she crossed a pedestrian crossing with her mother, a court has heard.

The little girl was thrown into the air by Charlene Lawlor's car in June 2022 and suffered a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain after the incident. She needs regular ongoing medical treatment.

Lawlor (33) of Derry Road, Crumlin, Dublin 12, has eight previous road traffic convictions - two of which post-date this offence.

She was found to have 21.3 ng/ml of cannabis in her system. The legal limit for cannabis while driving is zero, the court heard.

Lawlor was originally charged with dangerous driving causing serious bodily injury but following a defence proposal, she pleaded guilty to careless driving causing serious bodily harm on her trial date last March.

She also pleaded guilty to a charge of drug driving. The offence occurred on Long Mile Road in Dublin 12 on June 21st, 2022.

Garda Rebecca Durney told Aideen Collard , prosecuting, that on the day in question, the child's mother had just picked up her older child from school and was crossing the road with her two children, including her three-year-old daughter who was on a scooter.

The trio reached the central point, with a number of cars coming to a stop to allow them to cross.

However, when the girl on the scooter went slightly ahead of her mother as they continued crossing the road, Lawlor's car drove up the bus lane and collided with her at speed, sending the child flying into the air.

The mother immediately scooped up her unresponsive daughter. Another driver at the scene put the mother and both children into her car and drove them to nearby Crumlin Hospital where the girl received emergency treatment.

This witness then returned to the scene to tell gardaí what she had seen. She told gardaí she was the first car stopped at the pedestrian crossing when Lawlor's car drove by “like a blur” before hitting the child.

Lawlor was tested at the scene and was negative for alcohol but positive for drugs. She told gardaí she had smoked cannabis the previous night. At the scene, she said she thought she had been driving at 50 to 60km/h.

When interviewed the following October, she told gardaí: “I blame the mother. She should have been more careful and not let the child go ahead on a scooter. There could have been a bus coming.”

In interview, Lawlor said she believed she had been driving between 30 and 50km/h. She said a passenger in the car with her was coughing and she pulled into the bus lane with the aim of pulling into nearby shops to check they were alright. Her car was insured at the time but did not have a valid NCT.

Garda Durney agreed with prosecution counsel that the bus lane was open to other traffic at the time in question.

The court heard that the speed limit was ordinarily 50 km/h but 30 km/h during morning and afternoon periods when schools are starting and finishing. A circular from Dublin City Council to this effect was handed into court.

A lollipop lady normally works the pedestrian crossing in question but was not on duty at the time of the incident.

There was no garda forensic collision report made in relation to the incident. When Judge Baxter asked why not, the garda did not know.

While there was no victim impact statement in court, the parents have reported that the child is “not the same as she was” and is “very quiet and angry when before she used to be happy”. She finds it hard to play and regularly gets dizzy.

A medical report stated the child suffered a fractured skull in the wake of the incident and a scan found bleeding on the brain. She remained in hospital for one week and requires regular MRIs and imaging as well as weekly injections to prevent blood clots.

Keith Spencer, defending, said his client now “regrets anything she said in terms of victim-blaming” in the garda interview and acknowledges her culpability in relation to the incident. A letter of apology for the injured party was handed up in court.

Spencer said there was a lot of “grey” in the case in terms of the speed limit on the road. He agreed with Judge Martina Baxter that his client was “driving faster than she should have” and “wasn't keeping a proper lookout”.

The court heard Lawlor suffered “turmoil and upheaval” during her childhood, with both parents dying when she was young.

At the time of the incident she was living in homeless accommodation but now has stable housing. She is a good mother to her four children and is very active in their lives, the court heard.

Spencer said his client's cannabis usage was in the context of an inability to sleep the night before. He said she did not believe it affected her driving.

He submitted she should be given full credit for the guilty plea, which was first offered by the defence 18 months before it was eventually accepted by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Judge Baxter ordered an updated medical report, which the court heard the prosecution has had trouble obtaining. She also ordered a probation report and urine analysis for Lawlor, noting she should pay for the latter herself.

“If she can pay for cannabis, she can pay for urine analysis,” she said.

She adjourned the case for finalisation on October 20th.