An elderly woman, Mary Bernie, tragically lost her life in a hit-and-run incident carried out by a man on a stolen electronic scooter, who has since been imprisoned for six and a half years. Mary Bernie, also known as Peg, succumbed to her injuries three days after the event, which took place on Eccles Street, Dublin 7, on the 20th of June.
Aaron Gumble, aged 28 and a resident of Drumalee Park, North Circular Road, Dublin 7, faced his sentencing on Thursday – a total of eight years, with the last 18 months held in suspension. At the time of the incident, Gumble had been on bail for multiple theft charges. The courts also banned him from driving for a decade. He accepted guilt for dangerous driving, causing death, disregard of the scene, and theft of the electronic scooter from the Mater Public Hospital’s underground parking area.
Judge Pauline Codd, speaking at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, empathised with the devastating ‘unspeakable trauma’ that Peg’s family must be enduring following her alarming demise. After reviewing CCTV footage of the incident, Judge Codd pointed out that Gumble had called others to help the elderly woman he had hit before escaping from the scene, illustrating more concern for his escape than the woman he had left injured on the ground.
A significant aggravating factor in the sentence, determined at nine and a half years, was Gumble’s abandonment of the scene. Even though claims were made that Gumble was unaware of the severity of the inflicted harm, he didn’t stick around to confirm, the judge pointed out.
Gumble had a background of 140 prior convictions, including 26 for unauthorised acquisition, 10 for break-ins, 25 for stealing, and others related to theft and drug possession, it was revealed in the court. Denise McDonnell, acting as the voice of the Bernie family, described her mother as a generous, youthful woman who loved her family deeply. She also expressed her family’s torment caused by the violent injuries her mother suffered and the image of her left on the street alone amidst tremendous pain.