Courts

Boy drove stolen car on wrong side of motorway and broke garda’s hand, court told

The 15-year-old boy has apologised to the court and said he had not meant to hurt the garda

M50: The court heard that after ramming the patrol car the boy tried to drive down a slip road on to the wrong side of the motorway. Photograph: Bryan Meade
M50: The court heard that after ramming the patrol car the boy tried to drive down a slip road on to the wrong side of the motorway. Photograph: Bryan Meade
Fiona Ferguson
Fri Nov 08 2024 - 18:06

The 15-year-old driver of a stolen car broke a garda’s hand closing a car door during a struggle as she tried to remove him from the vehicle, a court has heard.

Det Gda Kate Gilligan vividly described in her victim impact statement the danger the teenager was causing to himself and other road users during a Garda pursuit as he drove on the wrong side of a motorway, rammed a patrol car and changed lanes constantly.

The boy told the court through his counsel that he had not intended to injure the garda and was sorry.

“If he continued it could have had devastating consequences for other road users and himself,” Det Gda Gilligan said. She said she would take a broken hand any day over what could have happened.

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The now-16 year old, who cannot be identified as he is a juvenile, pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment, assault, unlawful use of a car, dangerous driving, and damaging an official Garda vehicle at south Dublin locations along the M50, on August 24th, 2023.

Judge Orla Crowe said the evidence of Det Gda Gilligan vividly captured the danger of driving in this way for the public and also for the gardaí endeavouring to end it in a safe way.

Judge Crowe commended the gardaí for their fair evidence in the case.

The judge on Friday said the boy had been showing “significant improvement” and was making positive progress in the past year. She said she was going to adjourn the case for six months to allow him continue that work and asked for an updated probation report.

Det Gda Gilligan told the court that on the night in question, gardaí received reports of two stolen vehicles driving dangerously against traffic on the M11 at Rathnew, Co Wicklow.

She said when gardaí later encountered one of the vehicles, which was driven by the boy, it was driving towards Dublin on the correct side of the road. It failed to stop and a Garda pursuit began.

Det Gda Gilligan described how at one stage the boy rammed the patrol car and attempted to drive down a slip road on to the wrong side of the motorway.

Gardaí made a decision to stop the car and manoeuvred to bring it to a halt.

Det Gda Gilligan said she saw an opportunity to take the driver out of the car at this point, but her hand was injured as she struggled with the driver.

She sustained two broken bones in her hand when the driver door closed on it and was out of work for 11 weeks. She said the incident had not had any lasting effects on her or her work.

The teen tried to get away but was arrested and brought to hospital to be treated for his own injuries.

He told gardaí he was not the person who stole the car but he did have use of it the day after it was stolen. He apologised to other road users and co-operated with gardaí.

Dominic McGinn SC, defending, said his client was anxious to let the garda know the injury to her hand had not been deliberate. He said the boy had written a letter in which he apologised and said he regretted his actions. He said he had matured since these events and would never do anything like this again.

Mr McGinn asked the court to take into account the fact his client had co-operated with the investigation, pleaded guilty at an early stage and expressed genuine remorse.

He said the boy had matured in the past year, part of which he had spent in detention. He said this had a “salutary effect” and he had used the experience to do something with his life and not go back into a spiral of offending. He has taken advantage of the services available to him.

Counsel said the boy had abided by his bail condition and not reoffended since his release.

He said the probation report outlined difficulties in the boy’s upbringing but his family was now stable and supportive of him; he was working to address his educational deficits. The report stated his risk of reoffending had reduced and he was no longer associating with negative peer influences.