‘I drove off - I was drunk. I am guilty’ – Trial hears of texts sent by accused after crash which killed Claudine Keane’s uncle

A man who denies dangerous driving causing the death of Gaelic games commentator Paudie Palmer sent text messages to a number of people after the fatal collision saying that he had left the accident scene and that he had been drinking.

Bohdan Bezverkhyi (33), a native of Ukraine but with an address at Rigsdale House in Ballinhassig, Co Cork, has pleaded not guilty before Cork Circuit Criminal Court to dangerous driving causing the death of Mr Palmer (65).

The charge relates to a collision at Dunkereen Cross, Innishannon, Co Cork on December 29 2022.

Mr Palmer, who was from Kerry, was an award-winning broadcaster and one of the most respected sports journalists in the south.

He was involved in GAA coverage for Cork radio stations 96FM and C103FM for decades and was hailed as the ‘voice of Cork sport’.

The late Mr Palmer was also an uncle of Claudine Keane, a former model and wife of former Irish football international Robbie Keane.

Claudine’s father, Denis, is a brother of Mr Palmer.

The family originally hailed from Templenoe in Kerry but Mr Palmer spent most of his broadcast career based in Cork.

A Cork Circuit Criminal Court jury heard details of a number of text messages that the defendant sent in Russian in the wake of the collision.

The texts were given in English by translator Liudmilla Ladchenko.

In one text the accused said: “It is not funny to me. I will be jailed. Left the scene of a traffic accident. They will take me in now. They will come and get me.”

A friend asked if he had hit anyone. He replied: “I did.” He then asked another person for guidance via a text message.

“I got in a car accident. Advise me what to do. I am in the wrong 100pc. I drove off – I was drunk. There is no excuse for me. I am guilty of all.”

He said via text that he was “blaming” himself and when asked by a friend why he hadn’t gone to the police he replied “because I am not sober.”

Mr Bezverkhyi also exchanged text messages with his mother in which he said that guilty of all he would hand himself to Gardaí the following day.

His mother told him to put a “remnant of soap”in his pocket when he handed himself in to police.

In one of the texts he said that he had “left the scene of accident. Was pissed. Nevertheless, need to surrender to the garbage. I don’t see any other way out. I think this is the most correct option.”

The dangerous driving causing death trial previously heard evidence from Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster.

She told the jury of seven women and five men that prior to the post mortem she was informed that Mr Palmer died of injuries he sustained following a high speed road traffic collision.

As background, she was informed that Mr Palmer was between 300 metres to 500 metres from his home when the collision occurred.

Dr Bolster said that Mr Palmer suffered a traumatic brain injury which included bleeding to his brain and breeding to the membrane under his brain.

She said that he also sustained a traumatic axonal injury – this is a tearing of the brain’s long connecting nerve fibres which occurs when the brain is injured.

Mr Palmer was admitted to Cork University Hospital (CUH) on the day of the accident.

However, he passed away from his injuries on January 8 2023 and the postmortem examination was carried out the following day.

Dr Bolster said Mr Palmer suffered a “multi compartmental brain injury” and had signs of medical intervention at postmortem.

The court heard that he had sustained blunt force trauma in the crash.

Dr Bolster indicated that the cause of death was “traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries with thoracic injuries due to a road traffic collision.”

Defence counsel Seamus Roche BL put it to Dr Bolster that Mr Palmer was not wearing a seat belt when the collision occurred.

Dr Bolster said that this would have led to an “increased vulnerability” for Mr Palmer.

“He had very significant blunt force trauma to his head.”

The 33-year-old defendant is being assisted in court by an interpreter who speaks Russian.

Mr Palmer is survived by his wife Colette, his daughters Claire and Emily, his brothers Denis, Richie and John, his grandson Lucas Padraig and his extended family, former colleagues at St Brogan’s College in Bandon and a wide circle of friends.

In a special funeral tribute last year, Mr Palmer’s flag-covered coffin was carried from the centre of Innishannon village to St Mary’s Church in relay by honour guards drawn from Valley Rovers GAA club, Templenoe GAA club and St Brogan’s secondary school where Mr Palmer taught for over 40 years.

His brothers, Denis and Johnny, delivered a special eulogy to the 65 year old who had successfully defied a serious illness diagnosis in 2019 to fully recover only to then suffer fatal injuries in a road traffic incident just four days after Christmas.

His family noted to mourners he had gotten to spend Christmas with his adored first grandchild, Lucas Padraig.

The trial continues.

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