'No more messages from him': Limerick dad who died in collision remains in family group-chat
Mrs Curtin now experiences a ‘never-ending cycle of loneliness’
THE SON of a Limerick man killed in a road traffic collision has said he and his family have lost a “best friend” and “guiding hand” in life after his untimely death.
Dan Curtin, originally from Tournafulla, County Limerick but late of Dromahane, Co Cork, was just 63-years-old when a driver collided with his motorcycle on the R515 at Kilmallock in February 2024.
He passed away as a result of his injuries.
Petr Danis, aged 46, who is originally from the Czech Republic but living in Charleville, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving which,in turn, caused the death of the father-of-three.
He appeared at Limerick Circuit Court this Wednesday for sentencing on the matter. It was established that he had been speeding during the incident and struck the newly retired Mr Curtin when attempting to avoid a van that was stationary on the road.
The driver of this van has also been prosecuted for giving a false account to gardai.
Shane Dillon, aged 31, of Smiths Lane, Charleville, told authorities in a statement that he was driving behind Mr Danis and saw the collision take place.
It was established from CCTV footage that he was not telling the truth but was indeed in front of Mr Danis on the road. He told gardai he “panicked” and didn’t know why he lied.
He received a €400 fine after his conviction.
Judge Mary Morrissey heard a victim impact statement which was submitted by Dan Curtin’s family and read out by his son, Eoin.
Outlining how the death of his father has impacted the family, Eoin Curtin said they were “stunned” after receiving the news that “every family fears.”
He stated that what occurred was, and is, a “nightmare” after learning of the "catastrophic injuries he (Dan Curtin) suffered in his final moments.”
Despite this: “We remember his love for us.”
Eoin said the family “break down and cry” because of “what we lost.”
Speaking on behalf of his mother, Marion Curtin, who was six months away from celebrating her 30th wedding anniversary with her beloved husband, she was described in the statement as being a “wife” but “now his widow.”
She said the 63-year-old father was her “life’s companion” and that not getting to mark their anniversary “will forever haunt me.”
Mrs Curtin finds it difficult to go places without her husband because of “what I have lost” and that she now experiences a “never-ending cycle of loneliness.”
She said the pair “love our children deeply” and that this devastating experience has strengthened their bond but that the future she once knew is “gone” as a result of Dan Curtin’s unexpected death.
Eoin said he and his siblings, Ruth and Brian, have “lost a guiding hand” in life and that their father even spoke of helping them purchase their own homes.
Now, that feels “impossible without him.”
The 63-year-old was a “best friend” to all three of his children.
Eoin stated that certain things, memories and experiences “used to bring us joy, now leave us feeling hollow.”
The family had a group-chat which they would text each other in. Their father is still in this group and described that it is hard to comprehend “no more messages from him.”
The son of the motorcyclist said their father would help them in any way he possibly could, just because he loved them so much.
He said that while they are very close with their mother, visiting her and speaking to her frequently, it is hard knowing their dad is not there to “protect her.”
Eoin said the ‘what ifs’ are something he thinks of.
He wonders: “Was there a moment he realised he was going to die?”, did his beloved father know “he would never see his family again?”
“When was the last time I told dad I love him?”
Following the 63-year-old’s retirement, it was heard that after a life of service, he “finally deserved” to put himself first but that “he was taken from us and the world.”
Dan Curtin was described as a gentleman who was “honest, kind, thoughtful” and “didn’t deserve” to leave his family in such a sudden way.
The family are now in a state of “depression, despair” and “anger,” noting to Judge Morrissey that for them, this is not an event of the past.
It is something they are actively living with every day.
Eoin Curtin said “no sentence or apology will make up for the void” that will “impact us for the rest of our lives.”
Petr Danis will be sentenced for the collision which claimed the life of the father-of-three on Wednesday, November 18.
Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme.