September 2, 2002

BRODERICK'S GUILT

By Bill Hoffmann, New York Post

Matthew Broderick has agreed to meet with the family of the mother and daughter he tragically mowed down in Northern Ireland 15 years ago - in a dramatic bid to ease his longtime pain and guilt.

And the relatives of Margaret Doherty and Anna Gallagher, killed when the star's BMW crossed into the wrong lane and slammed into their Volvo, say the sit-down will finally bring closure.

"He didn't kill my mother and sister deliberately," said Martin Doherty, who still grieves for the family he lost in the horror crash.

"There were strong feelings at the time, but I have since forgiven him and feel no anger toward him."

A spokesman for Broderick, who had an extraordinary Broadway run with "The Producers," told The Post:

"Matthew is willing to meet up with them. There is no ill will - not any sort of anger. The family is seeking some sort of closure."

The meeting will take place sometime next year, after the birth this autumn of Matthew and wife Sarah Jessica Parker's first baby.

The awful crash occurred Aug. 5, 1987, as the career of the 25-year-old Greenwich Village native was taking off.

Broderick was in Northern Ireland, vacationing with his then-girlfriend, "Dirty Dancing" star Jennifer Grey, when the tragedy occurred.

As they drove in a rented BMW along a country road in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Broderick inexplicably veered into the opposite lane. He smashed head-on into the car driven by Gallagher, 30, with her 63-year-old mom as a passenger.

The actor - who had not been drinking - spent four weeks in a Belfast hospital with a fractured leg and ribs, collapsed lung and concussion. Grey escaped with minor injuries.

Both women in the other car were killed instantly.

Broderick told authorities he had no recollection of the crash and didn't know why he was in the wrong lane.

"I don't remember the day. I don't remember even getting up in the morning. I don't remember making my bed. What I first remember is waking up in the hospital, with a very strange feeling going on in my leg," he said at the time.

Broderick was charged with causing death by dangerous driving and faced up to five years behind bars.

He was later convicted of the lesser charge of careless driving and fined just $175 - which had the victims' stunned family calling the case "a travesty of justice."

"There was a note after the accident from him saying how sorry he was - but no other contact," Martin Doherty said.

"I would like a private meeting just between the family and him. I would like to reassure him that there are no bad feelings from us."

Broderick, now 40, acknowledges he was haunted then by the accident - and still is today.

"It was extremely difficult coming to grips with what happened, but in time I felt better about that terrible experience. Therapy helped," he told the new issue of the British women's mag Best.