WELL-known Limerick musician, rapper and poet William ‘Willzee’ Casey has been jailed for careless driving causing the death of a passenger who was in the back seat of a car he was driving near Killaloe in November 2017.
At Ennis Circuit Court, Judge Brian O’Callaghan imposed a 15 month prison term suspending the final 12 months on Mr Casey, who has an address at O’Briensbridge in South East Clare and was a winner at the Irish Traveller Pride Awards earlier this month.
Judge O’Callaghan, who also applied a four year driving ban on Mr Casey, said he maintained a lie that Christopher Moran, who died as a result of the accident, was the driver of the car involved in the single vehicle crash at Ardclooney, Killaloe on November 7, 2017.
The judge added that the case involved ‘aggravating factor after aggravating factor’ but that Mr Casey “is now fully remorseful”.
Mr Moran (27) was a back seat passenger in the car that also had three other passengers. He died three days later in hospital from his injuries.
In her victim impact evidence, his sister Tracy Moran said that for three years the family were left not knowing what happened on the night of November 7, 2017.
She said that Christopher’s two young girls were left without a father and they lost their mother a number of months later through an overdose.
Ms Moran said that the family would have accepted an apology from Mr Casey over what happened as she understood that accidents happen.
She recalled how when family members were at Christopher’s bedside in hospital, her brother got a phone call from William Casey who said that he wasn’t driving the car but that Christopher was.
“William Casey never apologised or showed any remorse,” she added.
Mr Casey maintained the lie and went on trial for dangerous driving causing the death of Mr Moran in June of last year at Ennis Circuit Court and pleaded guilty to careless driving causing death two days into the trial.
The court was told that he was disqualified from driving at the time of the fatal accident.
Jack Griffin, a worker with the Tipperary Rural Traveller Project, gave character evidence on behalf of Mr Casey.
He said that “William has been on the Claire Byrne show on RTÉ and other national media and has tried to be a positive voice for young Travellers. He is a talented musician, poet and artist and won a National Traveller Pride award earlier this month.
Asked about the impact of the crash on Mr Casey, Mr Griffin said: “I think what happened on the night was absolutely horrific. William for a long time found it hard to come to terms with his guilt and shame around it.”
Mr Griffin said that what happened that night “put William in a very dark place for a long time and he is working through that and he struggled”.
Mr Griffin said that Mr Casey “has worked tirelessly to bring something positive to his family and his community”.
In a letter read out in court, Mr Casey apologised to the Moran family for the hurt he has caused them.
“It was never my intention to hurt anyone and I am fully responsible for my actions on the night. If there was any way of going back and trading places, I would in a heartbeat,” he wrote.
Mr Casey added: “I honestly hate myself for the decisions I made that night and it has taken me a while to come to terms with the disgusting way I behaved.”
Counsel for the State, Lorcan Connolly said that because Mr Casey told Gardaí on the night that he wasn’t driving, he couldn’t be tested for drink driving.
Mr Casey embraced and kissed his foster mother in court before being led away to the courthouse cell by prison guards to start his three month prison sentence.
