Man jailed for fatal Boxing Day hit-and-run

A man has been sentenced to five years in jail for a hit-and-run in west Dublin that killed a husband and wife.

John Halpin, 46, of Whitestown Avenue, Blanchardstown, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the deaths of 39-year-old Anthony Hogg and his 38-year-old wife, Georgina Hogg Moore, on 26 December 2024.

He also pleaded guilty to failing to stop and to leaving the scene of an accident knowing that injury had been caused.

His partner, 35-year-old Nicole Fallon, of the same address, pleaded guilty to impeding his arrest.

She was given a three year suspended sentence as the judge ruled he had to consider the effect that her imprisonment would have on the couple's four children, Irish broadcaster RTÉ has reported.

The Hogg's 17-year-old daughter, who was with her parents when the collision happened, said she had witnessed what "no person should ever have to witness".

Becky Joy Hogg described to the court how her mum and dad were going out on a date together on that evening.

She said she was going to meet friends and they decided they would walk together as she was going in the same direction.

She said her parents were behind her looking "so happy and content".

In her victim impact statement, Ms Hogg said she heard her mother scream and before she realised what was happening, she was hit by a car.

She said she saw her dad lying on the concrete "bleeding out".

She said that she could hear a woman screaming and thought it was her mother, but when she looked around, she realised her mother had been hit too and her body was lying on the road.

Hogg told the told the court her mother had been dragged under the car and was pronounced dead at the scene. Her husband died later in hospital.

Becky Joy Hogg suffered injuries to her hip and ankle.

Det Alan Murphy told the court the family was hit as they crossed a pedestrian crossing while the light was green.

Witnesses described hearing car tyres screeching and saw a vehicle leave the scene, with no sign of any emergency braking on the road.

Forensic crash investigators established the car was travelling at about 85kmh (52mph) in a 60kmh (37mph) zone.

When gardaí (Irish police) went to the house where the car was registered, they met Nicole Fallon who said she did not know where her husband was and that he had not been at home all day.

They later discovered that Halpin had returned home and that Fallon had immediately moved the car to a different housing estate along with his jacket and two mobile phones.

After handing himself into gardaí that night, he said he could not explain what had happened and did not know why he had left the scene.

The court heard Halpin and Fallon's eight-month-old baby was in hospital at the time and the couple had been taking it in turns to stay with him.

Halpin was returning from the hospital that evening and told gardaí he was exhausted and that he did not see the lights.

He said he may have been looking at the radio or the air conditioning.

Halpin was not intoxicated and there was no evidence he had been using his phone.

The court heard Halpin had 33 previous convictions including possession of drugs and road traffic matters including drink driving and driving without insurance.

In his sentencing, Judge Martin Nolan said everyone who drove accepted that people could make mistakes, but he said the court always sought to identify aggravating factors in these cases.

He said Halpin did not intend to knock down and kill two people, but said he should have seen them.

It was a straight road, there was street lighting and they had the benefit of a pedestrian light.

He said Halpin's speed was an aggravating factor along with his leaving of the scene, when he must have been aware of the impact.

In relation to Fallon, he said she impeded the garda investigation by moving the car and lying to gardaí.