Two teenage best friends were laid next to each other “holding hands” after they were killed in a car accident in Ireland, one of the girls’ mothers said during a sentencing hearing at the Monaghan Circuit Court for the man who pleaded guilty to their deaths.
Kiea McCann, 17, and Dlava Mohammed, 16, were killed on July 31, 2023, when the car they were driving to their high school prom collided with a tree at about 75 mph, according to The Irish Times.
Anthony McGinn, 61, who was driving the victims to the event at the Westenra Arms Hotel in Monaghan, pleaded guilty in January to dangerous driving that resulted in the teenagers’ deaths, the BBC reported.
The suspect was also charged with dangerous driving that resulted in serious bodily harm to Dlava’s sister, Avin Mohammed, who was also in the car but survived, according to the outlet.
According to The Telegraph, the victims were laid next to each other “holding hands” after the crash. According to Raidió Teilifís Eireann (RTÉ), the crash occurred on the N54 road in Legnakelly, near Clones.
Kiea’s mother, Teresa, told the court that she had “trusted” McGinn to drive her daughter to the prom. “When we arrived at the scene, Kiea had already left. Her father tried CPR on her. “Nothing would bring her back,” she told The Telegraph.
“Kiea and her best friend lost their lives. They were placed side by side on the grass, holding hands, while my husband and I lay beside them,” she explained, according to the outlet.
According to The Telegraph, passenger Oisin Clerkin was sitting in the front seat at the time of the crash and requested that the suspect slow down.
“He was driving extremely fast, which scared me. Neither of the girls said anything. Kiea appeared scared. “I said ‘Goodbye’ to Kiea and woke up in hospital,” Clerkin told the Gardaí in a statement.
Dashcam footage of the crash, captured by a vehicle following the suspect’s car, was shown during a sentencing hearing on Wednesday, May 7, according to The Irish Times. It revealed that the road had been wet at the time of the incident due to rain.
According to the RTÉ, on the day of the crash, McGinn “had called over to the McCann family home before they all gathered at a pub in Clones” for the school prom.
Kiea’s father, Frankie, told the court that his daughter will “never know her first love, get married, or have a child of her own,” according to the broadcasting company, whereas Dlava’s father, Mohammed, said in a victim impact statement read out by Inspector Lardner that his daughter was a “piece of his heart.”
Mohammed stated that the family moved to Ireland from Syria to start a new life, but that his daughter’s dreams were “now buried with her,” according to RTÉ.
Kiea’s father described his daughter’s death as a “death sentence” for the family, while her mother stated that Kiea’s 18th birthday present was a headstone, according to The Telegraph.
Dlava’s sister, Avin, who was seriously injured in the crash, stated, “My sister came with me [to prom] because I had no one else to go with.” According to The Irish Times, she stated that “everything changed” the moment they got into McGinn’s car. Avin remembered asking the driver to stop, but then everything went black, and she woke up in the hospital with severe injuries.
McGinn was seriously injured in the accident, and defense barrister Breffni Gordon “formally apologizes to the family and friends of the victims,” according to RTÉ.
McGinn is expected to be sentenced on Wednesday, May 14.
PEOPLE contacted the Monaghan Circuit Criminal Court for more information, but the Gardaí declined to comment “on named individuals” or “matters before the courts.”