Galway Bay fm newsroom - A Rosscahill man has been handed an increased sentence for a crash that claimed the life of a 16 year old girl three years ago.
Róisín Hession died after a car driven by Michael Welby hit a wall in the townland of Porridgetown near Oughterard in March 2020.
24 year-old Michael Welby was sentenced at Galway Circuit Court last July, after he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of Róisín Hession.
The sentencing court heard he had been drinking and speeding on the night, while driving a car with defective tyres.
The vehicle came to the attention of Gardaí who activated flashing lights, but Welby sped away and turned onto a country road.
Gardaí later found the car crashed after it flipped and collided with a bank of trees and then a wall 40 metres away.
16 year-old Róisín Hession died at the scene.
Michael Welby was sentenced to three years in prison, with the final 18 months suspended.
The state has now successfully appealed the sentence, submitting it was unduly lenient.
Ms. Justice Isobel Kennedy said the aggravating factors were that Welby drove at speed to avoid apprehension in a defective vehicle, while over the limit, and in bad conditions.
She said his serious recklessness led to a tragic consequence - and quashed the original pre-mitigation headline sentence of five years.
Michael Welby was re-sentenced to four years in prison, with the final 18 months suspended.
