I was scared but he carried on speeding...& Kiea and Dlava died

A MAN who drove at nearly twice the speed limit and crashed into a tree resulting in the deaths of two teenage friends on their way to their Debs ball “ignored pleas to slow down", a court has heard.

- BY NICOLA DONNELLY at Monaghan Circuit Court

Anthony McGinn, 61, is to be sentenced on May 14 after he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the deaths of best friends Kiea McCann, 17, and Dlava Mohamed, 16, on July 31, 2023. He also admitted to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm to Dlava’s sister, Avin Mohammed, on the same occasion.

McGinn was placed in a “position of trust” to drive the teens to the Debs ball in Monaghan town that evening, Monaghan Circuit Court heard.

However, after travelling at “excessive speeds” of 151kph in an 80kph zone on a wet road, the white BMW skidded and crashed into a tree on a section of the N54 at Legnakelly near Clones, killing Kiea and Dlava and seriously injuring Dlava’s sister Avin.

Yesterday, distressing scenes unfolded at Monaghan Circuit Court during the sentencing hearing as family and friends of Kiea and Dlava saw their final moments when the speeding car skidded and crashed into the tree.

UPSET

Dashcam footage from a vehicle travelling behind McGinn's white BMW showed the car travelling at speed before skidding to the other side of the road and crashing into a tree.

Distraught family and friends let out gasps and became visibly upset before leaving the courtroom for a time.

Inspector Ann Marie Lardner told the court “considerable speed” caused the white BMW to skid on the wet road and crash into a tree on the opposite site of the road at an impact speed of over 121kph.