A Kerry man has been found guilty of the reckless endangerment of a young woman by driving over her head with a van.

26-year-old Caimin Sheedy of Rusheen, Firies, was found guilty by majority verdict of eleven to one at Tralee Circuit Court this afternoon.

The jury found he was reckless in driving a van over a young woman’s head after he drove a group of young people back to his mother’s house in Firies in the summer of 2022.

Mr Sheedy had driven a group of six young people back to his mother’s house in Firies, from a night out in Killarney in the early hours of 19th July 2022.

The group consisted of Mr Sheedy, two of his male friends, and three young women who they did not know prior to the night, and were visiting Killarney for a night out from Cork.

One of the women, Molly Hegarty, told the trial when she got out of the back of Mr Sheedy’s van in Firies, it knocked her down and the back wheel then rolled over her head.

Mr Sheedy, who was driving the van, then drove forward and the same wheel again rolled over her head a second time.

Ms Hegarty suffered severe and lasting injuries as a result, and lives in constant pain even today, while she had to re-learn to walk and has memory issues.

The trial learned Mr Sheedy had lied to gardaí about the circumstances of the night – he said he did not join his friends in Killarney and the group had arrived back to his house without warning, while he also denied driving back over Ms Hegarty’s head a second time.

The prosecution said Mr Sheedy was reckless in creating a risk of substantial harm or death to Ms Hegarty, and he should not have reversed when there was a warning light on the dash saying a door was open.

The defence, led by Senior Counsel Seamus Roche with Katie O’Connell BL instructed by solicitor Eimear Griffin, had argued it was an accident and Mr Sheedy was not reckless.

After two hours and 24 minutes deliberating, the jury of seven women and five men was told they could reach a verdict on a majority of 10-2 or 11-1.

Just 15 minutes later, the jury came to a verdict of guilty by a majority of 11-1.

Mr Sheedy was remanded on bail to 30th April to fix a date for sentencing.