Wednesday 28 October 2026Compiled from published reports. Every claim links to its source.

Ireland Crime

Every case followed from the first report to the sentence, or to where the reporting stopped.

Case No. 3710Careless driving causing death · Co. Wexford · 27 Jan 2024

Yurii Dudek, 31, sentenced to six months for careless driving causing death of unborn baby in Wexford

Yurii Dudek, 31, a Ukrainian man, was sentenced to six months in prison at Wexford Circuit Criminal Court on 27 February 2026 after pleading guilty to careless driving that caused the stillbirth of Jax, son of Saoirse Aylward, in a road collision on the N25 between Wexford and Rosslare on 27 January 2024.

  1. Reportednot reported
  2. Arrestednot reported
  3. Chargednot reported
  4. In courtnot reported
  5. Verdictnot reported
  6. Sentenced27 Feb
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet

Key facts

consolidated from all reports
11 statements extracted from the articles
  • whatDudek was driving a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van (irishtimes.com)
  • whatThe rear-ended vehicle was pushed into oncoming traffic, hitting the car in which Saoirse Aylward and Nathan Ferguson-Murphy were travelling (irishtimes.com)
  • whatSaoirse Aylward was 31 weeks pregnant at the time of the collision (irishtimes.com)
  • whatSaoirse Aylward had an emergency Caesarean section at Wexford General Hospital (irishtimes.com)
  • whatHer son Jax was stillborn (irishtimes.com)
  • whereThe collision happened on the N25 road between Wexford and Rosslare on 27 January 2024 (irishtimes.com)
  • courtHe was sentenced by Judge Cormac Quinn at Wexford Circuit Criminal Court on Friday (irishtimes.com)
  • sentenceYurii Dudek was sentenced to six months in prison (irishtimes.com)
  • sentenceThe maximum sentence for the offence was two years (irishtimes.com)
  • sentenceThe judge set a headline sentence of nine months, reduced to six months after mitigating factors (irishtimes.com)
  • otherDudek was in Ireland to collect medical supplies and humanitarian aid for the Ukrainian army (irishtimes.com)

The reporting

newest first
  1. 27 Feb2026
    Sentencedirishtimes.com, first report
    Man (31) sentenced to six months for causing death of unborn baby in Co Wexford road crash

    Reports the sentencing of Yurii Dudek to six months in prison (reduced from a nine-month headline sentence) for careless driving that caused the death of an unborn baby. Includes victim-impact statement from Saoirse Aylward and her campaign for 'Jax's Law' to recognise stillborn babies in fatal road collisions within the justice system.

    convicted, Yurii Dudek, 31, male, Ukrainian, named, non-irishYurii Dudekvictim, Saoirse Aylward, female, irish (judged from name)Saoirse Aylwardvictim, Jax, maleJaxvictim, Nathan Ferguson-Murphy, male, irish (judged from name)Nathan Ferguson-Murphy