Mother who lost only daughter in crash says: I forgive teen driver
A mother who lost her only child in a horrific collision says she has forgiven the driver of the other car.
Eight-year-old Zoe Scannell was killed instantly when a car, driven by a 17-year old, and her family's car were in collision on a roadway last June, near Rosscarbery, Co Cork.
Zoe's mum Alisha suffered a number of serious injuries. Her partner Eddie Murphy, who was driving the family car, escaped with minor injuries.
Ian Lawlor O'Donovan, of Ardagh East in Roscarberry, lost control of his car and ploughed into the family of three from Abbeyfeale, Co Limerick.
Mr Lawlor, now aged 18, was given a two-year suspended jail sentence last April.
Speaking on Limerick's Live 95FM this morning, Zoe's mum Alisha paid tribute to her "beautiful looking girl" she nicknamed "Zoe Zoe".
"She had big brown eyes and beautiful sallow skin," Ms Scannell said.
"She was always smiling, always laughing. I remember (a friend) said to me shortly after she died that the one thing that always sticks in his head is her laughter. It was a real giddy silly laughter."
She said she had forgiven Mr Lawlor O'Donovan after meeting him before his sentencing hearing at Cork Circuit Court last month.
"It was a tragic accident, he held up his hands and pleaded guilty, and I've forgiven him," she said.
"We've spoken and we've moved on from it. To know that he was remorseful and that it hurt him as much as it hurt me meant a lot to us."
"For a long time I did want to meet him, it was in my mind, and I did want to know that he wasn't a yobbo, and that he did have remorse for what had happened."
"I'm so happy I did (meet him). I think it was (therapeutic) for me, and I think it was for him too.
"He was only 17, he's 18 now. Seeing the remorse in his eyes, he was genuinely crushed, this not only ruined and destroyed our family, it did for his (family) too."
"I remember one thing he said to me: 'I'm an only child too. I know how important one child is to their mum'."
She added: "We had a bit of a hug and I gave him one of Zoe's loom bands, and I think there was a little bit of a connection there between the two of us, and that we know what each other is going through. Hopefully we'll make contact again in the future."
Zoe's fiends and neighbours in Abbeyfeale remembered her with a host of activities at the weekend, including a concert by her friends singing her favourite One Direction songs.
Money raised from the event is to go towards parents bereavement counselling service First Light, and to Brú Columbanus, an independent charity that provides accommodation for relatives of seriously ill patients in Cork.
