It has been heard in court that a man accused of dangerous driving resulting in the death of GAA commentator Paudie Palmer in Co Cork pled not guilty, despite allegedly confessing in text messages sent to third parties on the day of the incident. The prosecution, led by Brendan Kelly BL, told the jury at the Cork Circuit Criminal Court that the accused, Bohdan Bezverkhyi, 33, apparently owned up to the fatal incident in these messages.
Mr Kelly also pointed out that the accused, a native of Ukraine, revealed during his police interview that he was a part of a crash and subsequently “panicked”. Mr Bezverkhyi, who resides at Rigsdale House in Ballinhassig, is alleged to have dangerously driven leading to the death of Mr Palmer at Dunkereen Cross, Innishannon in late December 2022. Mr Palmer, a 65-year-old sports journalist from Co Kerry, had a long affiliation with Cork radio stations 96FM and C103FM through his GAA coverage.
The prosecution informed Judge Jonathan Dunphy and the jury that the defendant spent several hours at a petrol station in Crossbarry on the morning of the accident due to a punctured tyre. Upon fitting a limited-speed, spare tyre, Mr Bezverkhyi is said to have driven in the direction of Dunkereen around 9.50am. Eyewitness Colette Downey, a resident of Dunkereen Cross, reportedly heard a “revving engine” and consequently witnessed Mr Palmer’s red Peugeot colliding with a slope.
Following the incident, emergency services were dispatched and Mr Palmer was admitted to the hospital where he passed away on January 8th, 2023. The prosecution declared that the jurors would receive evidence from Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster, attesting that Mr Palmer’s death resulted from severe brain and spinal injuries sustained in the vehicular accident.
The prosecutor further stated that, in the State’s opinion, Mr Bezverkhyi had ignored a stop sign, thus causing the fatal collision with Mr Palmer’s vehicle. He disclosed that debris from the grey BMW driven by the accused was discovered at the incident site.
Testimony was presented during the trial from Lorrinda Crowley, an employee at Crossbarry’s Centra petrol station. Upon her morning arrival she sighted a silver BMW situated in the station’s forecourt. Reportedly, a man approached her, made use of Google translate to communicate and revealed that he encountered a tyre issue.
Officer Jacinta O’Leary was summoned to the scene as the compact car was obstructing the forecourt at Crossbarry’s petrol station. According to the officer, the individual standing by the vehicle conversed in fragmented English stating, “No drive, car broke”. Inquiry was made into his sobriety to which he denied consuming any alcohol. Officer O’Leary dismissed the possibility of Mr Bezverkhyi being inebriated at the encounter. Request was made for him to displace his vehicle to which he consented, following which she and a fellow officer exited the site.
The court proceedings are to be continued.