A former model has been jailed for four years for a drink-driving crash that caused the death of her best friend.
Jennifer Thomas, 46, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of 50-year-old mother-of-two Sheila Dunne in February of this year.
Thomas had consumed 12 alcoholic drinks before getting behind the wheel of her jeep, in which Ms Dunne was a passenger, when she lost control of the vehicle and mounted a ditch in Glanmire, Cork, on February 11.
Judge Helen Boyle imposed a sentence of five years with the last year suspended.
She said that there was no sentence she could impose that would bring justice for the ‘devastating loss’ of Ms Dunne, a much-loved mother, daughter, cousin, sister and friend.
The court also heard that Thomas had falsely told a garda that it was Ms Dunne, and not her, who was behind the wheel.
Judge Boyle praised Lilley Dunne, the 23-year-old daughter of the deceased, for her bravery in delivering her victim impact statement herself.
She also commended her for the level of responsibility she had shown in taking on the care of her younger brother TJ, who has autism and is non-verbal, now he has lost both parents. Sheila Dunne was predeceased by husband Ted, who died from Covid in 2021.
Jennifer Thomas (pictured), 46, has been jailed for four years for a drink-driving crash that caused the death of her best friend
Mother-of-two Sheila Dunne,50, was killed when Thomas crashed her jeep in Glanmire, Cork, on February 11 this year
In her victim impact statement on behalf of herself and her brother, Lilley Dunne condemned the ‘reckless decision made by a selfish individual’.
She said of her brother TJ: ‘He is struggling to understand why she is no longer with us. It breaks my heart into even more pieces when he says, “I want Mommy please” and I will never be able to make that better for him.
‘When he is upset, I remind him that Mommy is with Daddy and they are “up in the sky.” It is impossible to gauge the extent of the trauma he has endured.’
Ms Dunne said that Thomas’s absence of remorse had made the ‘grieving process so much more challenging’.
She said of her mother: ‘She has only started to live her life again after Dad’s passing. She will never get the opportunity to finish her bucket list, to see out the dreams she had for her future or to watch TJ and I grow up.’
Sheila’s mother Esther O’Brien said that she was ‘heartbroken’ to have lost her daughter to a drunk driver.
She said: ‘Her absence has changed everything for me and for my grandchildren. Only for them life is not worth living.’
Judge Boyle said that ‘sustained poor driving’ led Thomas to mount a ditch at Sarsfield Court in Glanmire.
She noted that Thomas had fallen asleep behind the wheel twice while stopped at traffic lights.
During the course of her erratic driving, Thomas narrowly missed two pedestrians, knocked down traffic cones, took two U-turns and drove on the wrong side of the road.
In sentencing Judge Boyle said that she accepted that Thomas had experienced certain difficulties in life.
The judge remarked: ‘She has over the years had attendances with mental health services. She suffers from both depression and anxiety and I accept she made an intentional attempt on her life in October of 2024.
‘She has a long history of mental health difficulties. She understands and accepts she caused the death and has caused enormous loss to [Sheila Dunne’s] friends and family.’
Detective Garda Mark Durcan had told Judge Boyle that Thomas had consumed espresso martinis, Prosecco, gin, mimosa and tonic, and wine on February 11, having gone for lunch with Ms Dunne in Douglas in Cork.
Det Gda Durcan said that the crash occurred when Thomas drove erratically around a left bend. He said: ‘She failed to straighten the vehicle, went on to a grass verge, mounted a walled kerb and overturned on to the driver’s side at 7.31pm.’
Thomas, of 10 Oakfield View, Glanmire, Cork, told emergency services that she was behind the wheel of the vehicle when they arrived at the scene of the crash at Sarsfield Court.
However, she falsely claimed to a garda that Ms Dunne, who was in the front passenger seat of the jeep, was driving as she had ‘more control.’
Det Gda Durcan indicated that during Garda interviews Ms Thomas was shown CCTV footage and then accepted she was driving. She said she had no recollection of the incident due to concussion. However, she was found not to have concussion.
Following the sentencing hearing, Lilly Dunne urged motorists not to drive drunk, remarking: ‘Drunk driving is a choice. A choice that ruins lives.’