Pregnant woman was drink driving on motorway

A MOTORIST seen driving erratically on the M11 outside Gorey, appeared before Gorey District Court last week on drink driving and other charges last week.

Twenty-four-year-old Donna O’Brien, with an address listed as Caretakers Hostel, Back Lane, Dublin 5, was charged with dangerous driving, drink driving, and driving without insurance on the Arklow Road, Gorey, on August 4, 2015.

Gardaí got a report of erratic driving on the southbound lane of the motorway and went to investigate. They got the car to stop on the Arklow Road where it collided with a footpath, narrowly missing a member of the public.

When the driver got out of the car, she was unable to stand and fell against the vehicle. She was arrested and brought to Gorey Garda Station.

Her solicitor said that his client, a mother of a five-yearold, is eight months pregnant. She had been in custody for the past four months, having been refused bail.

He said she had been in and out of homelessness for the last number of years. He added that she had a lot of previous convictions which stemmed from a previous relationship where she had a very controlling partner. She had developed a heroin addiction but is now drug free.

He also told the court that she has a very serious manslaughter charge hanging over her, for which a plea of guilty of will be entered.

She has been in custody since June 7. On each of the charges – drink driving, no insurance, and dangerous driving – Judge Haughton gave her four months in prison, back dated to June 7, and a five-year driving ban.