Ukrainian man gets six years for dangerous driving that caused death of Paudie Palmer
Bohdan Bezverkhyi was also disqualified from driving for 10 years.
A six-year jail term was imposed on Thursday on the Ukrainian national whose dangerous driving caused the death of GAA broadcaster Paudie Palmer — as the family said the accused hurt them more by blaming their loved one for what happened.
Judge Jonathan Dunphy said: “This tragic case related to December 29, 2022, at Dunkereen Cross, Innishannon, when Mr Palmer was driving his Peugeot car along a road he was very familiar with when the defendant exited from a minor road on to the main road and was found guilty of dangerous driving causing death.”
One of the aggravating factors in the case was a video made by the accused man, 35-year-old Bohdan Bezverkhyi, the previous day where he recorded himself driving the same BMW 5 series car at Curraheen, County Cork, at speeds of 200 kilometres per hour, to which he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving.
In relation to the day of the crash that caused Paudie Palmer’s death, the accused man pleaded guilty to four charges related to leaving the scene of the crash after witnessing the late Mr Palmer’s car turning over.
Further aggravating factors consisted of texts sent by the accused to family and friends shortly after the collision. In those texts he variously stated:
“I am in the wrong 100%, I drove off, I was drunk, there is no excuse for me, I am guilty of it all.”
“I will be jailed. I left the scene of a traffic accident, drunk.”
“I am a moron. I am guilty of it all. Don’t know what happened to the people. I am blaming myself for driving off."
“Left the scene of the accident. Was pissed."
Judge Dunphy disqualified the accused from driving for 10 years and imposed a seven-and-a-half-year jail sentence with the last year-and-a-half suspended at Cork Circuit Criminal Court. It was backdated to December 29, 2022, as the accused has been in custody since then.
Mitigating factors raised by defence senior counsel Seamus Roche included the absence of previous convictions and the fact that it would be more difficult for a non-national to serve a jail term in a country where he effectively had no family support.
Bohdan Bezverkhyi, of Rigsdale House, Rigsdale, Ballinhassig, County Cork, pleaded not guilty to the charge of dangerous driving causing the death of Mr Palmer at Dunkereen Cross, Innishannon, Co Cork, on December 29, 2022.
Mr Palmer was fatally injured as his car ended up overturned on an embankment at the junction near his home, having been in a collision with the defendant's car which was then driven from the scene.
The seven women and five men who deliberated for approximately five hours returned to Cork Circuit Criminal Court on April 18 with their unanimous guilty verdict on what was the seventh day of the trial.
