Sentencing date set in fatal Baltinglass crash case
The late Molly Dempsey
A DATE has been set for the finalisation of sentencing in the case of a Wicklow youth who admitted dangerous driving causing the death of 15-year-old Molly Dempsey.
The 18-year-old man appeared at a sitting of Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court on Tuesday 13 January. He cannot be named for legal reasons, as he was a minor when the offence occurred.
Judge Patrick Quinn set February 20, 2026, as the date for the case to resume.
The court had previously been told that in the early hours of 5 May 2024, the defendant, who did not have a licence and was unable to drive, took his mother's car keys, collected Ms Dempsey, and crashed the vehicle in Baltinglass, Co Wicklow. The crash happened just a few kilometres from Ms Dempsey’s home.
A specialist Garda unit later determined that the car had been travelling at high speed.
In November 2025, the court heard recordings of four emergency calls made by the defendant using Ms Dempsey's phone, in which he stated he had crashed the car and feared she would die.
Ms Dempsey sustained fatal crushing injuries and was pronounced dead on arrival at Naas Hospital, despite extensive CPR efforts at the scene.
Molly, the youngest of nine children in her family, was a student at Scoil Chonglais in Baltinglass. Her death was the third tragedy to strike her family, as her parents, Nigel and Mary, had also previously suffered the deaths of two of their sons – Roy in 2007, aged 13, and Killian in 2016, aged 16.
