Seriously injured victim 'bears no grudge' after Ballina Bus Éireann van collision

A Mayo woman seriously injured when struck by a Bus Éireann van in Ballina last May has expressed no ill-feeling towards the driver. At Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court on Friday, the court heard that Ann Bourke was briefly trapped beneath the vehicle on Kevin Barry Street on 14 May 2024, sustaining fractures to her wrist, shoulder blade and ribs. She spent two months hospitalised and required surgical intervention, though she told the court she is making good recovery. John Regan, aged 41, of Mountain View, Ballybrooney, Killala, pleaded guilty to careless driving causing serious bodily harm. Judge Eoin Garavan imposed 150 hours community service in lieu of a seven-month sentence, describing the incident as a serious lapse of judgment that could have proven fatal. The judge commended both parties, noting that Regan, a family man with no previous convictions, had completed a pro-social driving course and that the two had met cordially for the first time at court.