Man struggles to put into words hell he’s living since collision

A Westmeath man has said he struggles to put into words the hell he’s been living through every day since causing a high-speed collision that left his brother with life-altering injuries.

Gerard Duffy McAndrew (23), of Ben View, Rathcorbally, Monilea, County Westmeath, had recently connected with his biological brother, Stephen Murphy (29), who was adopted at a young age, when he caused him to lose a leg following a high speed collision in March of last year.

He appeared before Judge Keenan Johnson at Mullingar Circuit Court today, where he pleaded guilty to one count of driving without insurance on March 23, 2025, in Rathowen, County Westmeath.

In February, he pleaded guilty to the count of dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm.

Judge Johnson said the case is one of the worst cases of dangerous driving he has ever had to deal with, as it has “every aggravating factor in the book: drink, drugs, speed and catastrophic injuries”. Mr Duffy McAndrew was also driving without insurance, tax or an NCT.

Judge Johnson directed a probation report with risk assessment to be prepared for May 5, 2026, with a view to finalising the case on May 20.

“It has to be said, this was an absolutely horrific case and a tragedy of gigantic proportions for all involved,” he said.

Sergeant Sean Brehan of Castlepollard Garda Station outlined to the court that, at approximately 2.35am, gardaí responded to reports of a serious injury single-vehicle collision on the N4 at Rathowen village, in which the passenger had been flung from the car and was unresponsive on the road. Several garda crews, ambulance crews and fire crews attended the scene.

CCTV footage of the vehicle speeding through Ballinalack and colliding with trees in Rathowen estimated it to be travelling speeds of more than 150kmh in a zone with a speed limit of 50kmh. It came to rest 135m away from the point of collision. Later inspections of the vehicle showed the needle of the speedometer to be frozen at 195kmh.

Photographs submitted to the court showed damage to a curb, tyre marks, damage to two trees, and various parts of the Audi scattered on the road, as well as damage done to a number of tiles on the roofs of nearby two-storey dwellings.

The engine of the Audi had separated from the car, and the battery had gone through the front grille of a Toyota Auris parked on the street, and lodged itself into its engine. The Toyota was written off as a result.

Mr McAndrew had not been wearing a seatbelt at the time of the collision. He was found still in the driver’s seat, leaning over the centre console, with a faint pulse. Fire crews had to cut the doors and the roof off what was left of the vehicle to get him out.

He was admitted to Tullamore Regional Hospital with a suspected head injury, a fracture to the bone in his neck at the base of his skull and a fracture to his right shoulder. Toxicology reports showed him to be more than three times over the legal limit for alcohol. He also had cannabis in his system.

Mr Murphy was wearing a seatbelt, but it snapped on the force of the collision, sending him through the windscreen to the road.

Paramedics arriving at the scene observed severe injuries to Mr Murphy, and the bone sticking out of his left leg. In a statement to gardaí, one of those paramedics said she had never seen leg injuries like it before and his legs had to be bound together because they were so badly damaged.

The injuries were catastrophic and resulted in Mr Murphy’s left leg being amputated above the knee. He also suffered multiple fractured ribs, a fractured sternum and a punctured lung. His right ankle had “exploded”, the court heard, and his shin bone was broken.

Gardaí carrying out an analysis of Mr Duffy McAndrew’s phone extracted a number of videos that were taken by him on the night of the collision.

One video taken approximately 50 minutes before the collision showed a bottle of wine in the accused man’s hand while he drove on a narrow road, using his other hand to record the video on his phone. A caption on the video read ‘Roscommons a bad influence. Beer steer ago’.

The camera pans over to the passenger seat, where Mr Murphy can be seen, sleeping on his side, facing away from the camera with a seatbelt on and his seat fully reclined.

Mr Duffy McAndrew then turns the phone on himself to show him drinking from the bottle of wine. The speedometer in the footage shows him doing an approximate speed of 80kmh.

Further investigation revealed that Mr Duffy McAndrew’s insurance policy had been cancelled in October 2024. The vehicle’s tax had expired in March of 2024, and the NCT had expired just over a month prior to the collision.

The court heard that Mr Duffy McAndrew and Mr Murphy are full brothers. Mr Murphy had been adopted at a time when his parents were very young and he had made contact with his biological family to build relationships with his siblings.

Mr Duffy McAndrew told the court he was “over the moon” when he found out about the connection because he had “always wanted a brother”. He outlined how they had become “inseparable”, spending weekends and days off together.

He had gone to see his brother after the breakup of Mr Murphy’s relationship in an effort to “clear his head”. The pair had gone to Portrunny Harbour on the shore of Lough Ree in County Roscommon and that was the last thing Mr Duffy McAndrew remembered before the accident.

He said he hasn’t touched alcohol since the collision, adding that he hasn’t been able to look his brother in the eye and: “I feel the consequences of my actions have damaged our relationship, which I am sincerely sorry for.”

His mother, Catherine McAndrew, in an emotional plea to the court for leniency, said that the last 12 months have been “extremely challenging” and “an enormous toll” on the family.

“The young man before you is the kindest and most thoughtful man you’ll ever meet. Stephen has the same traits. Gerry has punished himself over the guilt he has in him,” she said.

“Stephen has been punished both by the adoption and the appalling crash, both of which have left lifelong emotional and physical scars. This really breaks my heart. I lost my son Stephen all those years ago and I went through hell after it. I can’t face losing another son today.

“I would kindly ask you to consider a lenient sentence as this is a very sensitive case. Our family has been through enough and so has Stephen. I love my two boys. It should never have come to this.”

The incident is “touching on a Shakespearean tragedy”, according to Colm Smyth, senior counsel for the defence, who outlined that the brothers had found each other not long beforehand and, on advice from his legal team, Mr Duffy McAndrew had not been in contact with the injured party.

Mr Smyth argued that, while this was a serious incident, these were “exceptional circumstances” connected to a “complex family situation”.

He outlined how Mr Duffy McAndrew has rescued and befriended a dog, with whom he goes on long walks in the evenings. The dog sleeps in the bed with him and offers comfort.

“He prefers to be isolated in silence, fishing and so on. That’s the way he’s dealing with the situation and that’s where he finds solace and comfort. He doesn’t ask for any mercy in respect of any injuries or his psychological state,” said Mr Smyth.

“Undoubtedly, the punishment he’s going to suffer mentally will remain with him. Thankfully his brother now has a prosthetic leg and can work,” he added.

Mr Murphy is now back working on the farm, and Judge Johnson praised him as “a remarkably resilient individual”.

“It would be fair to say that both of them have been to Hell and back,” he said.

“And they will remain in Purgatory for quite some time,” Mr Smyth agreed.

The maximum sentence for dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm is 10 years imprisonment, with a mandatory minimum driving disqualification of four years. Driving without insurance is punishable by up to six months in prison, and a mandatory disqualification of at least two years.

Mr Duffy McAndrew’s case will reappear for mention on May 5, when a probation report including assessment of reoffending will be furnished to the court. Judge Johnson expects to finalise sentence on May 20.