Judge says ‘there’s no excuse’ as he jails driver for killing woman
A judge issued a warning to drivers after a dad made a fatal decision while driving. Kieran Cooney, of Blackrod Avenue in Speke[1], hit Cinzia Ceravolo, 36, as she crossed the road on Hale Road in Speke. The Ryanair cabin crew member was returning home after two days away with work and had arrived back into Liverpool John Lennon Airport[2] on a flight from Dublin shortly after 11.15pm on Monday, August 22 2022.
After being struck by the Ford Focus being driven by Cooney, 31, Ms Ceravolo was rushed to Aintree[3] Hospital and then transferred to the Walton[4] Centre where she died four days later on August 26 2022. Cooney was tested for drugs at the scene and it was found he had metabolite of cocaine in his system and was over the limit.
However a fitness drug test, designed to reflect zero tolerance, showed the drugs did not impair the 31-year-old’s driving.
However, an investigation found the dad-of-one had been “distracted” by his phone just seconds before he hit Ms Ceravolo, who was originally from Italy. Moments before the crash, Cooney had received two text messages from his partner, one regarding their child’s nappy, and he had sent a one-word reply saying “really”. This was enough of a distraction for Cooney not to see Ms Ceravolo.
The court heard one other text message was sent after the crash. Judge Andrew Menary KC sentenced Cooney to three years in prison for death by dangerous driving and was banned from driving for six and half years.
Kieran Cooney, of Blackrod Avenue in Speke, was jailed for three years (Image: Merseyside Police)
The judge said Cooney caused the death of Ms Ceravolo due to being “distracted” by “mundane messages” he had received and the one he sent. He said the only sentence he could pass was “immediate imprisonment”.
Judge Menary said: “The loss to her family is enormous. She was a capable woman with a zest for life. Ms Ceravolo had come to this country to pursue her career and experience the culture and her intelligent interests.” He added the lives of the 36-year-old’s family were “irrevocably damaged”.
The judge also issued a stark warning to others about using phones while driving. He said: “There is no excuse for using a mobile phone while driving to make calls, send messages or look at social media.”
Cinzia Ceravolo died in hospital after being hit by a car on Hale Road (Image: Merseyside Police)
He said such actions can cause “damage to so many lives” and using a mobile phone should be likened to drink driving. Judge Menary said: “If people think it won’t happen to them, they may want to think and to look at this case and see how a decent, hard working man made a terrible consequence.”
In a victim impact statement, Ms Cervolo’s mum, Marisa Orlando, described the devastation her family and Ms Ceravolo’s friends felt after she was killed she said “the pain is in the air”. She added: “Cinzia was the flower we wished for and wanted and now she is so far away.” Mrs Orlando described how hundreds of people attended a service for her daughter in Italy and after her death. Ms Ceravolo donated her organs which helped three boys here in the UK.
Ms Orlando added: “He did not only destroy Cinzia’s life but that of a whole family, and many friends and relatives mourn her because she was a special human being, a generous woman who gave life to three English boys with her donated organs.” Ms Ceravolo had moved to Liverpool for her love of English literature and music and to make a career here. She had lived in the UK for five years.
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References
- ^ Speke (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
- ^ John Lennon Airport (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
- ^ Aintree (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
- ^ Walton (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
- ^ Brianna Ghey live court updates as murder trial continues (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
- ^ Face of killer James Preston before he was scarred in prison attack (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
- ^ Don’t miss the biggest and breaking stories by signing up to the Echo Daily newsletter here (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)