Young driver guilty of leading gardai on ‘Starsky and Hutch’ style car chase across county
CLAIMS by Wayne O’Brien (23) from 15 St Aidan’s Green in Clongeen that he was not driving the car involved in a high speed chase were branded not credible by Judge John Brennan.
Wexford District Court heard how O’Brien’s powerful Volvo was followed for 21 kilometres through the Wexford countryside by Garda Niall Brophy before crashing into a bank in the village of Glynn.
The Clongeen man was found guilty on six counts of dangerous driving, which included crossing the busy N11 without stopping at the notorious Kyle Cross junction on the busy Wexford to Enniscorthy road.
The episode was likened by the judge to a sequence from ‘Starsky and Hutch’.
O’Brien produced a Polish man called Kamil who stated under oath that he was the person behind the wheel of the Volvo on September 15 last year but this was not accepted by the court.
Garda Brophy gave evidence of how he spotted the defendant approaching his checkpoint in the V50 saloon on the N11 at Garrycleary at around mid-day.
O’Brien had a mobile phone to his right ear and he failed to stop for the garda, instead heading off north in the direction of Oylegate at excessive speed, turning right at the Slaney Inn, cutting the corner and not indicating.
Oncoming traffic was obliged to pull over in order to avoid collisions as the car continued through Redgate on the wrong side of the road, failing to obey a stop sign at a junction in Garryvarren.
The garda saw his quarry become airborne negotiating a hump-back bridge in Randallsmills, sending sparks flying from the underside of the Volvo, and then driving past another stop sign.
Around Crory, O’Brien went past two vehicles in a dangerous manner on a left hand bend, continuing on through Crossabeg village, again without stopping as required, on the way back to the N11, once more overtaking on dangerous bends.
A number of other road users were waiting to move out on to the main road, but the defendant went past them, going straight across to hit the embankment on the far side.
Though considerably damaged, the car resumed its journey, weaving across the road through Killurin and on to Glynn where it crashed on the wrong side of the road.
The driver was seen moving to the passenger side and then making good his escape into a patch of brambles.
He was found shortly afterwards hiding under a bush in a farmer’s field, arrested and brought in handcuffs to the barracks in Wexford. The car was impounded.
Evidence was given, with the assistance of a Polish interpreter, by Kamil who said that he was the one behind the wheel on the date in question.
He insisted that he was bringing the Volvo to Arklow after buying it from Wayne O’Brien for €1,000 in a Wexford car park and that he was giving the vendor a lift to Arklow so that he could visit his cousin.
Judge Brennan found the accused guilty of dangerous driving and adjourned the case to December 17 for preparation of a probation report.