Excessive driving speed did not cause accident which killed daughter, court hears

A Galway-based doctor has been spared a prison sentence for a careless driving incident which caused the death of his six-year-old daughter two years ago, after a judge noted all evidence pointed to the negative camber of the tyres on his BMW X5s series being the cause of the crash.

Babak Meshkat (46) of An Cimín Mór, Cappagh Road, Galway, would have lost control of the vehicle regardless of his speed, due to the alignment of the tyres causing excessive wear to the inside of the tyres, the court heard.

He was fined €5,000, to be paid within two months, and disqualified from driving for one year, starting in September, as Judge Cephas Power noted he had been travelling at a speed of more than 170km per hour on the motorway just four seconds before the crash, and at an average speed of 138km per hour overall.

Mr Meshkat was initially charged with dangerous driving causing death on the eastbound lane of the M6 between Tyrrellspass and Rochfortbridge on February 8, 2024.

Earlier this month, before a sitting of Mullingar Circuit Court, he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of careless driving causing death.

The collision caused severe injury to Mr Meshkat’s six-year-old daughter, Hana, who died at the Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) hospital at Temple Street, Dublin, nine days later.

Summarising the facts, Judge Power stressed that there is “no sentence of this court that could act as a greater punishment than what he endures every day”, noting that there is also “no greater deterrent” to the public than “the horror of the tragedy” that occurred in this case.

“The defect of the vehicle, leading to catastrophic failure; the unsecured child who unbuckled her belt a minute before; and the speed of the car he was driving, led to the death of one who was so loved by her father, her parents and those who knew her,” he said.

“The accused’s grief is very real.”

Mr Meshkat is an Iranian-born doctor who grew up in Norway, where he received a scholarship to study medicine abroad. He chose Ireland for his studies and did an internship before studying further to become a surgeon. He has worked as a general surgeon in a hospital in Galway for eight years.

On the day of the accident, Mr Meshkat was driving from Galway to Dublin to collect his parents, who were visiting from Norway to surprise his daughter Hana for her birthday. He had initially left the house with just his son, but returned for his daughter, who had found out he was going to Dublin Airport and wanted to go with him.

She had become bored and hungry on the journey and Mr Meshkat gave her his phone to watch videos; however, a minute before the crash, he became aware that Hana had unbuckled her seatbelt.

Four seconds before the accident, Mr Meshkat had been travelling at a speed of 174km per hour. Witnesses described poor visibility on the day due to heavy rain and a good deal of spray from vehicles ahead.

While driving between Tyrrellspass and Rochfortbridge, Mr Meshkat lost total control of the vehicle. The airbags were deployed and the car flipped over on the embankment, coming to a stop on the motorway. Mr Meshkat’s son was restrained in the front seat. He and Mr Meshkat received some injuries. His daughter was thrown from the car.

Witnesses described Mr Meshkat as being in an “extremely distressed state, screaming for his daughter and begging her to be okay”, Judge Power noted. He was seen turning her on her side to assist her.

She had improved by February 12 but, on February 15, she deteriorated due to the “very unusual circumstances” of fat and marrow in her bloodstream which, along with severe head injury, was the cause of her death.

Mr Meshkat drove a two-year-old BMW X5s, which was serviced regularly. He had been advised nine months prior to the accident to change his tyres and had done so.

Forensic examination of the vehicle determined the triggering event was that the tread of the right back wheel had worn away as the rear wheels were aligned with excessive negative cambering.

That meant the tyres were at an angle, causing delamination, or excessive wear, on the inside of the tyres, while the treading on the visible side would have been within legal limits.

The vehicle was “dangerously defective”, Judge Power noted, but the accused or any normal person inspecting them would not have been aware of that unless the car had been put up on a ramp. The excessive camber setting is common on BMW X5s to accommodate driving on German autobahns.

“Considering the maximum speed on the motorway is 120km per hour, the heat generated would increase the speed at which the tyre would wear, causing a total loss of control of the vehicle,” said Judge Power.

It was put to the court that, if not for the defective tyre, this case would not be before the court, as it was a defect for which no ordinary driver would be liable.

“Negative cambering is not something that happened by accident, but something that was engineered on this particular car,” said Judge Power.

“He was driving at excessive speed, but this car would have gone out of control at 120km per hour. It is just not possible to say that, if the car was travelling at 120km per hour or below, the tragic results would have been any different.”

The case didn’t have some of the usual aggravating factors, he said. Mr Meshkat had no previous convictions, no alcohol was taken and he could not have been blamed for the defective vehicle.

“The only aggravating factor is that, in the 60 seconds when he was alerted to the fact Hana had unbuckled her seatbelt and, driving at the speed at which he was driving, he ought to have slowed down and taken emergency actions,” said Judge Power.

“The speed at which he continued to drive is the only aggravating factor, but the evidence in this case has determined that the speed at which he was driving was not the cause of the accident.”

In mitigation, he noted Mr Meshkat has “suffered greatly”, has PTSD and intrusive thoughts, causing him to replay the scene in his head every time he passes the area. References from colleagues referred to him as a “highly skilled surgeon” and a “very kind man who shows compassion to all he meets”.

His family circumstances have also suffered and a victim impact statement from his wife described their daughter as a “bubbly” child who “captivated everyone she met” with “endless laughter”. The grief has affected every part of the family, causing panic, anxiety, nightmares, overwhelming exhaustion and physical and mental distress.

“They carry their grief silently, sometimes unable to find the words to describe what has happened, and have flashbacks, nightmares and intrusive thoughts about the crash,” Judge Power noted.

Mr Meshkat’s wife and remaining two children, having already lost a sister, have been living with the real possibility of losing their father by way of custodial sentence, a source of enormous anxiety for them.

Judge Power opted to deal with the case by way of a fine to the amount of €5,000. He was mindful of the fact that Mr Meshkat requires his car for work but was satisfied that, “because of the speed he travelled on the day, with children in the car on a rainy, wet afternoon, the facts of this case bring me to a point where a disqualification is appropriate”.

He disqualified Mr Meshkat from driving for 12 months, but postponed that disqualification until the children go back to school, to allow him to continue driving them to various hobbies and activities over the summer.