A Dublin man “just panicked” when he saw an unmarked garda car and drove off at high speed, endangering road users, breaking lights and mounting the pavement before eventually colliding with a parked car, a court has heard.
Martin O’Brien (40) of Brookwood Heights, Artane, Dublin 5, told gardaí on his arrest, “Sorry, I had a bench warrant and a ban from driving, I just panicked.”
He was sentenced to three years in prison at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court yesterday and disqualified from driving for five years for driving with no insurance.
The court heard that O’Brien has 68 previous convictions, of which 40 are for road traffic offences.
Judge Martin Nolan said although thankfully no-one had been injured, O’Brien had caused “considerable danger” to other road users.
“A car driven in this way can be a lethal weapon,” the judge added.
O’Brien pleaded guilty to one count of endangerment at Cheeverstown Road in Tallaght on June 6 this year and to six counts of dangerous driving in the Tallaght area, along with one count of driving without insurance on the same date.
Garda Mark Fall told prosecuting counsel that O’Brien failed to stop on Kiltalown Road in Tallaght on the day in question, driving off at speed and leading gardaí on a chase that lasted a total of five or six minutes.
O’Brien broke the speed limit driving at 80 to 120kmph, the court heard, and also drove in bus lanes, mounted the footpath in residential areas, broke red lights and overtook other cars dangerously.
Gda Fall added that the car, which was falsely registered, finally lost control and crashed into a parked BMW on Cheeverstown Road.
Karl Monahan BL, defending, said O’Brien was one of 17 children and had had an unhappy childhood and bad experiences in school.
He told the court O’Brien was a dedicated and devoted father of eight and was very apologetic for his behaviour.
Letters were handed to the judge from O’Brien’s partner and one of his daughters.
The sentence was backdated to June 4 of this year, when O’Brien went into custody on this offence.