A 24-year-old driver who killed a young boy in a high-speed hit-and-run before fleeing the scene and going drinking has been sentenced to five years in prison and banned from driving for 20 years.
Sergee Kelly, of Upper Mullaghmore, Co Sligo, struck nine-year-old Ronan Wilson with his car in Bundoran, Co Donegal, on the evening of September 23, 2023. Kelly was driving at a speed of up to 111km/h — well over the limit — when he hit the child with such force that Ronan was thrown 58 metres down the road.
Instead of stopping to help, Kelly fled the scene in his silver Skoda Octavia. CCTV footage captured the incident, and he was arrested the following day.
At Donegal Circuit Court, Judge John Aylmer described the impact as “horrific” and said Kelly’s speed gave him no chance of avoiding the child. The judge made clear that had Kelly been driving at a lawful speed, he may have had time to react — and Ronan might have survived.
The court heard that Kelly not only left the scene but later went on a binge of alcohol and drugs. Judge Aylmer said these were significant aggravating factors, along with Kelly’s prior offence for careless driving, in which he was caught travelling at 160km/h.
Calling the case “very much at the upper end of such offending,” the judge initially set the sentence at eight years but reduced it to five after Kelly entered a guilty plea and showed remorse.
Kelly pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death, failing to stop, and failing to offer assistance — all of which carry heavy culpability, the judge noted. The sentences will run concurrently. A separate charge of failing to keep the vehicle at the scene was taken into consideration.
Ronan’s parents, Emma and Dean Wilson, were present in court along with other family members, having travelled from their home in Kildress, Co Tyrone.
Speaking outside court, Ronan’s uncle, Stephen McAuley, expressed the family’s deep grief and frustration with the outcome.
“No sentence can ever bring Ronan back, but five years for the life of our boy is truly pathetic,” he said.
“Sergee Kelly mowed down our wee boy and drove a knife through our hearts. He fled the scene like a coward and partied the night away while our child lay dying in the street.
The sentence today does nothing to ease our pain. It sends the wrong message to young drivers who treat roads like racetracks.”
The family described Ronan as “a force of nature” whose absence has left an unfillable void.
“We will miss him beyond measure,” McAuley said. “Our family needs time to heal.”
