Galway Bay fm newsroom - A man whose dangerous driving caused the death of two passengers - including a young Clonbur man - has been jailed for six years.
Appearing before Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court, Francis Carr of Cappaghduff, Tourmakeady, was also disqualified from driving for 20 years.
In the early hours of June 4th, 2017, a Lexus car driven by 22 year old Francis Carr crashed into a pillar near Tourmakeady.
One of the passengers was 20 year old Sheep farmer Sean Halloran from Clonbur - he was pronounced dead at the scene after suffering severe injuries.
The other was 18 year old student psychiatric nurse Orla O' Malley of Cross, Co. Mayo, who later died in hospital without regaining consciousness.
The trio had been returning from a Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta GAA event when the incident occurred.
Francis Carr was injured in the impact, but later left for the United States - where he was arrested on foot of an extradition warrant.
According to the Irish Times, a video was posted in August 2018 showing him fighting in a boxing tournament in Chicago.
He unsuccessfully fought the extradition process.
In a victim impact statement, Geraldine Halloran, who lost her only son, said "I hope when you serve your time you will see the devastation you have caused us."
She added that Francis Carr said they were friends, but "friends don't run away".
Judge Rory McCabe sentenced him to six years in prison and disqualified him from driving for 20 years.
He said that Francis Carr had driven drunk, initially denied he had been driving, and avoided the legal process by moving away - a decision he noted remains a cause of distress for the families.
