Motorist is jailed for catalogue of dangerous driving through county

THE parents of a 26-year-old man sat in court as details of their son’s dangerous driving in Wexford and in Enniscorthy were given to Judge Brian O’Shea.

Eleven months in jail was prescribed for David Molloy, address given as 21 Ashwood Grove, Gorey, after the high-speed events of May 26 were reviewed.

Evidence was given that gardaí in Wexford were ordered to stand down from pursuit of the defendant’s car for safety reasons.

However, he was then picked up by colleagues in Enniscorthy who followed him through Scarawalsh and out the road towards Monageer.

They eventually caught up with him only after he had flipped his vehicle, causing damage to the roof.

The court learned that Molloy’s escapade, which merited eight dangerous driving convictions, was carried out while the defendant was over the limit for alcohol.

First into the witness box was Garda Geoffrey Scally who recalled that it was a warm evening when he was on duty in the King Street area of Wexford Town.

He told how he saw the wheels on Molloy’s car spinning as the accused took off at speed, driving through a stop sign without coming to a halt as he turned on to High Street.

He proceeded at 60 to 70 km/h before breaking another stop sign at King Street where he drove at 80 to 90 km/h and broke a red light as he proceeded on to Distillery Road.

The garda saw the vehicle hit a speed bump at Bishopswater but the driver regained control after swerving.

Molloy overtook three other road users at Killeens by driving over hatched road markings and then headed out along the N25 at a speed in excess of 150 km/h.

He was seen ‘undertaking’ a lorry on the N11 and continuing at 150 km/h before the pursuers were stood down.

They radioed ahead so that Garda Tom McGrath was waiting for the red Renault Megane.

In his evidence, McGrath recalled seeing oncoming traffic move on to the hard shoulder to avoid a collision as the northbound car overtook at high speed at Moyne Lower.

Another driver was forced to come to a halt at the roundabout in Scarawalsh as Molloy made his way past before turning off the main road to head in the direction of Monageer.

The pursuing garda lost sight of the Megane at a right hand bend before finding that it had come to a halt mid-road with its roof badly damaged.

The driver, once he emerged, was unable to stand unaided and a breath test confirmed that he was over the legal alcohol limit.

Solicitor Lana Doherty accepted that her client had 31 previous convictions, including four counts of driving without insurance.

She suggested that the events described by the two gardaí had followed a row between the defendant and his girlfriend.

She also observed that Molloy tended to lose control if his anti-depressant medication was mixed with alcohol.

Judge O’Shea responded that this was the worst catalogue of driving he had heard in quite some time.

He imposed a series of sentences which added up to eleven months in prison, the final two months to be suspended, and he banned the offender from driving for nine years.