Man gets suspended sentence after knocking down woman and leaving her with life-changing injuries

A WOMAN WHO was knocked down on a pedestrian crossing and left with devastating life-changing injuries has said the breaking of a traffic light shattered her world and the lives of her loved ones.

Francine Winters was crossing the road in Drimnagh in October 2024, having just got off a Luas when driver John Wrafter (34) drove through a red light and knocked her down, causing her to hit the windscreen and land on the side of the road.

She woke up from a coma five days later in Beaumont Hospital with no memory of what had happened, Garda Ian Saville told Wrafter’s sentence hearing at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court today.

Wrafter, with an address at Kilbarron Drive, Kilmore, Dublin 7, pleaded guilty to one count of careless driving causing serious bodily harm to Winters at Davin Road, Drimnagh, on 9 October 2024.

It is a charge that carries a maximum prison sentence of two years. He has no previous convictions. He was today given a 12-month suspended sentence and disqualified from driving for four years.

Garda Saville told Emmet Nolan BL, prosecuting, that an eyewitness to the accident told gardaí she was crossing the road just behind Winters when the car driven by Wrafter “whizzed” past and knocked her down.

Wrafter, a chef, stopped the car immediately and was distraught, the court heard. Ambulance, fire brigade and gardaí were called to the scene immediately.

An investigation ascertained that Wrafter was not speeding or on his mobile phone, was not under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicants, and his car insurance and driving licence were all in order.

He told gardaí he didn’t notice the red light and the case against him was on the basis that he failed to keep a proper lookout, the court heard.

A medical report before the court found Winters suffered multiple fractures to her spine and ribs, a broken pelvis, an internal degloving of one leg and multiple fractures to her skull and eye socket. She suffered a brain bleed which required an internal probe to monitor.

In a lengthy victim impact statement, Winters described the far-reaching consequences of her injuries – both physical and mental – and how it has also impacted her ability to care for her elderly mother.

She said she now lives in a state of chronic pain and has lost her independence, her identity, the value of her opinion, her expertise, strength, hope, language skills, among others. She has hearing difficulties and lost her sense of smell, she requires a crutch to walk and was unable to work.

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She said her partner, mother, sisters and other family members did not expect her to survive and “grieved for me before I died”.

“It’s such a short sentence: ‘he broke the lights’,” she said. “But it shattered peoples’ lives for days and weeks. It shattered my world.”

She said her recovery has been about “learning and acceptance”.

“Over a year later, I am still learning and accepting.”

“I survived and I can advocate for myself again,” she said, concluding: “Victims need to be heard.”

David Staunton BL, defending Wrafter, said Winters’s victim impact statement was both eloquent and insightful.

He said his client is deeply remorseful for what happened that night and has frequently asked about Winters’s health and made enquiries with his insurance company about her. He has not driven since and has a high degree of anxiety, the court heard.

Staunton said Wrafter works as a chef and used to drive to different catering events, but his employer has adapted this part of his work for him. A letter from his employer was handed into court along with a letter from Wrafter himself.

“He is distraught over what happened,” Staunton said.

Sentencing him today, Judge Elma Sheahan paid tribute to Winters’s dignity throughout the hearing, noting her victim impact statement vividly detailed how her life has been impacted by this devastating incident.

She noted the gravity of the offence and how it affected her emotionally, psychologically, physically and financially, as well as professionally. It affected “every aspect of her life when she was utterly without blame”, the judge said.

Judge Sheahan set a headline sentence of 16 months to reflect the impact on the victim, before noting: “No sentence will restore her to the health and peace of mind she once had.”

She accepted Wrafter’s remorse was genuine, noting it was supported by his actions since the offence as well as his words, including his early guilty plea, his cooperation with gardaí, his enquiries after Winters and his letter of apology.

She set a sentence of 12 months, which she suspended on a number of conditions, and disqualified Wrafter from driving for four years.