Woman jailed for dangerous driving while fleeing dangerous man

A woman who broke a red light and hit another car side-on was trying to get away from a dangerous person, a court has heard.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Amy Reynolds (38) was “under a level of coercion” when her car collided with another in a high-speed impact which left the other driver seriously injured.

The driver of the other car spent five weeks in hospital after he suffered a bleed on the brain, a fractured skull and other injuries, the court heard.

Reynolds was sentenced to three and a half years in prison after she pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm at the junction of Walkinstown Avenue and the Long Mile Road during the night of January 2 and 3, 2022.

She also admitted to leaving the scene in an attempt to evade liability and driving without insurance or a driving licence.

Reynolds, with an address at Prior Hall, Kilmainham, Dublin 8, had been disqualified from driving for five years at the time of the offence.

In a ruling on Wednesday, Judge Martin Nolan set a headline sentence of five years, adding that he would have imposed a considerably higher sentence were it not for the “element of coercion” in the case.

Judge Nolan said it should have been obvious to Reynolds to obey the red light, but that for her own reasons she broke the light in a case of “wilful bad driving”.

The judge acknowledged that at the time, Reynolds was under the influence of a “very difficult and dangerous person” and that she was in fear of this man.

But he said a custodial term could not be avoided as Reynolds was a mature woman and responsible for her actions.

The judge pointed out what he said were serious aggravating factors, including that Reynolds left the scene and that she had been disqualified from driving at the time.

Reynolds had 26 previous convictions, including multiple for traffic offences, the court heard.

Judge Nolan disqualified Reynolds from driving for a further five years.

Footage was previously played in court of Reynolds driving at speed through the lights and hitting the other man’s car side-on, causing it to spin around across the junction.

No victim impact statement was submitted but the injured man was present in court and seemed to have made a good recovery.

Counsel for Reynolds told the court that she had been driving to get away from a man who had made threats to her and had previously broken her eye socket.

Judge Nolan accepted that Reynolds had had “a difficult life” and had been under the influence of a dangerous person.