Man who killed nine-year-old boy in road crash went on drink and drugs binge afterwards

A man who killed a nine-year-old boy in when driving at twice the speed limit went on a bender of drink and drugs just minutes later.

Donegal Circuit Court heard how Sergee Kelly fled the scene of the collision in Bundoran, County Donegal on September 23, 2023 that saw little Ronan Wilson from Kildress in County Tyrone lose his life.

A large number of the Wilson family were present in court as harrowing details of the incident were relayed. Some wept and held precious memories of Ronan, who would have been due to make his Confirmation this Thursday.

Instead, they will return to Letterkenny Courthouse on Friday when Kelly will be sentenced by Judge John Aylmer. 

Kelly, the court heard, was driving at over 100km/h on Atlantic Way, an urban road governed by a 50km/h speed limit when he struck the young boy with such force he was thrown into the air and propelled 58m down the road.

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The 24-year-old of Upper Mullaghmore, Co Sligo, will be sentenced on Friday having pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving causing the death of Ronan Wilson at Atlantic Way, Bundoran on September 23, 2023.

Kelly continued driving and then went on the town, drinking alcohol and taking cocaine before smoking a joint on his arrival back home in the early hours of the next morning.

Kelly was before the court on a signed plea of guilty to charges which also included failing to offer assistance, failing to stop and failing to remain at the scene after the incident.

Detective Garda Shane Maye told Ms Fiona Crawford BL, barrister for the State, that gardai took a statement from Maria Roberts and Michael McKinney who were walking on Atlantic Way on the night in question. They were walking back to the caravan park having been in Bundoran town. 

Ms Roberts told gardai how a silver Skoda with black tinted windows drove past them at speed and she remarked to her partner that the car was “going way too fast”. The witness heard a screech and a little boy approached shouting: “He hit my brother, he hit my brother”.

Ms Roberts, trained in first aid, went to assist a young boy, but could find no pulse on his left wrist.

The following morning, Ms Roberts spotted the silver Skoda in the caravan park and there was damage to the front of the car.

The court was told that Atlantic Way is governed by a 50km/h speed limit and is managed by a continuous white line.

Another witness, Mr Jamie Gallagher, told gardai that he was in a mobile home when he heard a bang and a scream for help.

CCTV was downloaded and analysed from a number of premises.

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Kelly fled the scene and parked the car in a caravan park. Footage showed Kelly walking out of the caravan park and rolling a cigarette. 

Ronan and his family were in Bundoran on a weekend break and he was returning to an apartment with two other children having gone to get Fruit Shoots when the collision occurred. 

Garda forensic collision investigators believed that Kelly was travelling between 105km/h and 110km/h at the time when his vehicle struck the boy. Expert gardai estimated that had he been going at the required speed limit, Kelly would have had at least two seconds to respond to the presence of a pedestrian.

The court heard that the tint on the windows was over the legal threshold and restricted the driver’s visibility. The driver’s seat was reclined to such an extent that, while sitting in the seat with the head on the headrest, vision would have been greatly reduced and the driver would have “barely been able to hold the steering wheel”.

Ronan was airborne for a significant period and came to rest 58m from the point of impact, the court was informed. 

Ronan Wilson

The sport-mad youngster was declared dead at the scene and his body was taken to Sligo University Hospital for a post-mortem examination. State Pathologist Dr Margot Bolster said that the young boy suffered a traumatic brain injury. 

The court heard that, after fleeing the scene, Kelly went into Bundoran and was in a number of pubs. He spent some time in the amusements before going to meet friends in a nightclub. When interviewed by Gardai, Kelly admitted that he took cocaine during the night out and consumed cannabis when he got home. 

A blood sample taken from Kelly during his detention at Ballyshannon Garda Station was positive for cocaine. The sample was taken at 5.40pm on September 24 - around 17 hours after the collision.

While he admitted colliding with a child and fleeing the scene, Kelly was asked how fast he was travelling and told detectives: “Not fast. 50km/h max”.

Ronan’s grieving mother, Emma, told how Ronan was “an exceptionally joyful child” who took to kicking a football immediately when he began to walk.

Her son “truly stood out” and he was a passionate supporter of the Kildress GAA club who also eagerly awaited the opening of a new boxing club in the area. “He never got the chance to see it,” Ms Wilson said.

“Our lives were idyllic until September 23 when everything changed and my child was taken from me,” she said.

She recalled saying to him on the fatal night:  “Be good. Keep the noise down and it’ll see you later” and 15 minutes later she was holding her dead son in her arms.

“The loss of his potential left us devastated; an open wound that will never heal.”

Ronan’s aunt Shanon said their world “fell apart” at the loss of “wee Roro, the best wee man who would give you his last slice of pizza even if he was hungry”.

“Losing Ronan has completely wrecked our lives,” she added. “What good is a picture in a frame? We are never going to get over this. We should not be in this position. Ronan should be with us.”

His beloved grandmother, Imelda McCauley, said the family is “living in a nightmare which never gets any easier”.

“My life shattered beyond belief,” she said, adding that she has had to take sleeping tablets since the tragic incident. “Our Ronan had so much love to give.”

Kelly has two previous convictions, one for a serious assault during which he stabbed a youth in the face, an offence for which he was given a four-year prison sentence in 2019 with the final two years suspended.  Kelly was also fined €2,000 at Sligo District Court in 2021 for an offence of careless driving after being caught driving at 160km/h.

Kelly was put in the witness box by his barrister and told the bereaved family: “I’d just like to say that I’m sorry. I never wanted any of this to happen. It shouldn’t happen to any mother or father. It has been horrible for me so I can’t imagine what it was like for you.  I was careless that night when it came to my speed. I take full responsibility for that. I expect everything I get.”

Kelly, who was supported in court by his mother and father, told the court that he was born in Belarus and was adopted by a family in Sligo at the age of three. He has been diagnosed with ADHD and has been involved with CAHMS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) from a young age. 

Judge John Aylmer. (North West Newspix)

He said he now has “no real life of any sort” and said that as the “whole community has shunned me” he will have to move away from the area.

Kelly’s barrister, Mr Colm Smyth SC, said this was a “horrendous accident that took the life of a young child who brought so much joy to his mother and father and the extended family”.

He said his client came forward at the earliest opportunity to admit his guilt. He said this was a massive error of judgement and something he would carry with him for the rest of his days. Kelly is now, said his barrister, “a pariah in his community”.

He asked Judge Aylmer to deal with the matter as leniently as possible,

Judge Aylmer adjourned the case until Friday for finalisation.