A bus driver was found guilty of dangerous driving which caused the deaths of two teenagers in Co Waterford two years ago.
43 year old Adrian Doyle, was driving the bus, when the accident occurred, causing the deaths of two teenagers, who were travelling on an e scooter on 27 June 2024. The teenagers were Gilbert Collins, aged 15, and Avuzwa Sampo, 17.
Mr Doyle, pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving causing the deaths of the two youths, but was found guilty following a unanimous guilty verdict at Waterford Circuit Criminal Court, by a jury of nine men and three women.
Mr Doyle, of Ard Glas, Abbey Road in Ferrybank, Waterford, was charged in connection with the incident last year, on a charge of dangerous driving, causing the deaths of two teenagers.
He was remanded on continuing bail until 13 January, where he will be sentenced by Judge Eugene O'Kelly, who also directed that requests for the preparation of victim impact statements. He also thanked the jury for their service in this case, as they had to deal with difficult evidence during this trial.
Such evidence included dash-cam and CCTV footage which was shown in court, and described as "particularly graphic".
In court, it was heard how Mr Doyle was driving a bus for JJ Kavanagh & Sons bus company on the morning in question. He was just about to pick up his first passengers at the South East Technological University bus stop at the beginning of his shift at around 2am.
The court also heard how the data from the tachograph fitted to the bus, said it was travelling at a speed of 76km/h, with the speed limit for that stretch of road at 50km/h, with conditions said to be good, but visibility poor in places.
It was reported that the bus and the e scooter collided to the right of the road, and the impact had occurred near the white line in the centre of the road. The teenagers were on a black e scooter, wearing black clothing, and did not have a rear light. The e scooter was being driven by Mr Sampo, with Gilbert in the rear.
CCTV footage showed the two teens arriving at Waterford Retail Park close to 1am, before entering Snap Fitness, a gym near the retail park, after disembarking the scooter.
It later showed the two boys on the e scooter leaving the retail park, and moving out onto the Cork Road, heading in the Waterford City direction. The White JJ Kavanagh & Sons coach driven by Mr Doyle was moving in the same direction.
Speaking at the trial, Sergeant Gavin Sheehan of Waterford Garda Station said that he and several of his colleagues attended this scene, saying that the main neck of the e scooter had been snapped, and was found at the centre of the road.
He also confirmed that the accused, Mr Doyle received a roadside breathalyser, and a test for drugs, both of which he passed.
Dash cam footage from onboard the bus showed the moment of impact, with the boys moving towards the centre of the road, before hitting the front windscreen upon impact.
In his closing arguments for the prosecution, barrister, Niall Storan said this case was "tragic and difficult".
He went on to state that there was no evidence of Mr Doyle braking pre collision, and the bus was in a perfect roadworthy condition.
While he acknowledged that the boys "weren't doing what they should have been doing", as the scooter had no lights, and it was illegal for them to be on the e scooter together. He said their decision to travel on it that night "are matters of sadness".
However, he said that Mr Doyle had been driving the bus at 77km/h in a 50km/h zone, and had shown no signs of slowing down until after the collision. He added that conditions were decent and the area was well lit.
The barrister claimed that the accused could have avoided it by driving within the speed limit.
Speaking for the defence, senior counsel, Kate Egan made her closing arguments, stating that Mr Doyle is "fighting for his life", that he is a single man, unmarried, and that his job as a bus driver is very important to him.
She said that this whole incident had left her client "appalled", and that he thinks about the CCTV footage every time he closes his eyes, insisting that he is "suffering and has been punished plenty".
Ms Egan called on the jury to consider the dash cam footage shown in court, pointing to the angle at which the footage was recorded which was different to the view that Mr Doyle had in the driver's seat, adding that there was no risk of injury before "those poor kids" moved towards the middle of the road.
She stated that Mr Doyle could not avoid the teenagers.
But in the end, the jury did not agree with her, and Adrian Doyle was found guilty of dangerous driving.
He will return to court on January 13, while the two teenagers' families who were present in court throughout the trial, are set to submit victim impact statements before this date.
