A Derry man jailed for the death by careless driving of a Donegal teenager was once described as having one of the worst criminal record in British or Irish legal history.
Eamon Lynch (43) was sentenced to 18 months in prison at Letterkenny circuit court for the death by careless driving of Shane Patton (18) near Drumkeen in July 2012.
The court heard that Lynch, who previously lived at a number of addresses in Derry city, was believed to be travelling at 165 kph on a road with a 100 kph speed limit when he crashed into a car driven by the school leaver.
The Derry man, who had almost 500 previous convictions, had been drinking, had no driving licence, no valid NCT for his car, no tax or insurance when the accident occurred.
Lynch, who had been living in Letterkenny but fled to the North after the accident, was extradited last month to face the charges on foot of an arrest warrant issued in December 2014.
Judge Martin Nolan was told on Thursday that Lynch’s victim was awaiting his Leaving Certificate results when he was killed.
In a victim impact statement, Mr Patton’s mother, Julie said her son was the eldest of three children and had been accepted onto a course to train as a mechanic.
Mrs Patton described her son as a “happy, beautiful boy.” She said there was nothing to fix her family’s broken hearts.
“I have to tell people that it’s not OK to drink and drive because it destroys families,” she told the court.
Counsel for Lynch told the court the Derry man had written to the Patton family to express his sorrow.
Richard Lyons said his client knew he had destroyed the family’s lives and would never get over what he had done.
Judge Nolan said that while drink was an issue, the main factor was speed. Lynch was sentenced to 18 months on the careless driving causing death charge and a further six months concurrent on a drink driving charge.
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A judge at a previous and unconnected court hearing told Eamon Lynch he did not care for the law after it was revealed he had 465 previous convictions.
The Derry man had absconded from County Donegal after Shane Patton’s death at Letterkenny University Hospital from injuries sustained in the road accident in July 2012.
At a court hearing in Derry in November 2012, it was revealed Lynch had more than 400 previous convictions, described as the worst criminal records in British or Irish legal history.
Lynch, who had previous addresses in the Rosemount and Waterside areas of the city, pleaded guilty to seven road traffic offences in May 2010. He was sentenced to 28 months in prison, to serve half in custody and half on licence.
Crown Court judge, Piers Grant told him his record was “simply appalling” and contained the “most significant number of convictions” ever to come before him.
Judge Grant told Lynch: “You simply do not care anything for the law.”
