Judge's praise for 'extraordinarily kind' crash victim's mum

A Latvian woman whose son was killed in an horrific crash on the N2 at Kilmoon Cross earlier this year did not want the man convicted of causing his death jailed, the Circuit Court in Trim heard last week. Intars Balans (25), with an address at Brindley Park Green, Ashbourne, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, which caused the death of 27-year-old Aivars Suensberg, at Kilmoon Cross on 12th January 2008. The two men were in the same car at the time of the fatal collision with a lorry on the main Dublin-Derry road. The extraordinary kindness of the victim"s mother was remarked upon by Judge Michael O"Shea, who had been told she believed jailing the defendant would not bring back her son. The judge sentenced Balans to two years" imprisonment but, as he had been in custody since shortly after the accident, he suspended the balance of the sentence. Garda Sheena Coyle, Dunshaughlin, told the court that the collision occurred shortly before 9pm on 12th January at Kilmoon Cross. She said a Mr Allen had been driving a truck on the N2 when he saw a BMW approaching from a minor road and knew it would not be able to stop. Garda Coyle said the truck driver went through the junction, hoping he could clear it before the BMW, but the car hit the rear side of the truck"s trailer. Aivars Suensberg was decapitated in the impact. Witness said that Balans had been taken to hospital in Drogheda and, while there, had indicated that the deceased man had been driving. She said he was later arrested and still maintained he hadn"t been driving, but eventually admitted that he had been the driver of the car. Garda Coyle said the defendant had said he hadn"t realised there was a junction ahead and he hadn"t been able to stop in time. He said he had been driving at 70 to 80km/h. The garda told Judge O'Shea that there was no sign for a junction on that road, but there was a stop sign and it could be seen from a petrol station about 50m away. She said the defendant hadn"t been drinking but his two passengers had been and they were on their way to a party. She said the defendant knew the deceased through another friend. Mr Roderick O"Hanlon, BL, defending, apologised to the family of the dead man on behalf of Balans. He said the defendant had been well within the speed limit but hadn"t realised there was a junction ahead. He told Judge O"Shea the accused had been studying to be a solicitor but, because of economic difficulties, had to interrupt his education and come to Ireland to work. He had intended returning to Latvia to finish his studies. Mr O"Hanlon said the enormity of what had happened had affected the defendant and caused him to react the way he did at first, but when interviewed later, he gave a full account of how the accident occurred. He added that the defendant hoped to some day visit the deceased"s family and answer any questions his mother may have. He said the defendant came from a small town in Latvia and was the second of five children and had no previous convictions of any kind. Judge O"Shea said that the effect on Mr Suensberg"s family had been devastating. He had read the victim impact report and her son"s death had been a gigantic loss to the deceased"s mother, who visited his grave every day. 'She is an outstanding woman; extraordinarily kind, fair and forgiving,' he said.