Disqualified driver who crashed into garda car and taxi 'got a fright' when he spotted gardaí, court heard
A disqualified driver who crashed into a garda car and a taxi during a high-speed pursuit “got a fright” when he first spotted the gardaí, a court has heard.
Lee O'Brien (31) with an address at Cooley Road, Drimnagh, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to three counts of endangerment, one count of dangerous driving and one count of driving without insurance on January 9, 2018 in Dublin City Centre.
Sergeant Brendan O'Halloran told John Byrne BL, prosecuting, that at 1.30am on the morning in question a garda patrol unit noticed that a red Nissan Micra seemed to hesitate upon the driver spotting the gardaí.
The car sped off when the gardaí approached and the unit gave pursuit. The car, driven by O'Brien, drove quickly down the wrong direction of several one way streets and through red traffic lights.
O'Brien appeared to lose control of the car on North King Street and stalled. When he turned the engine back on he reversed towards the patrol car that had also come to a halt and collided with it while two gardaí were still in the car.
Another patrol car took up the pursuit, which came to an end on Queen's Street when O'Brien collided with a taxi. This caused the taxi to spin and collide with a pole.
O'Brien, his passenger and the driver of the taxi all had to be removed from the vehicles and were brought to hospital where they were treated for minor injuries.
Sgt O'Halloran interviewed O'Brien and he admitted that he had been banned from driving at the time of the incident. He accepted all of the charges and said he was “genuinely sorry”.
O'Brien has 122 previous convictions, the bulk of which are for road traffic matters such as drunk driving and dangerous driving. He has three children.
Sgt O'Halloran agreed with Karl Monahan BL, defending, that O'Brien had had significant difficulty with drug use. He is on 20ml of methadone per day while in custody and is attempting to break free of his addiction.
Mr Monahan said his client had “got a fright” when he saw the patrol unit and drove away as he was disqualified from driving at the time. O'Brien was intoxicated during the incident.
Judge Melanie Greally ordered a probation report and adjourned the matter for sentencing on February 13, 2019.
