Two year ban for driver who over took at speed on road
A man who claimed he was not the driver of a car observed by a member of the gardaí driving dangerously and overtaking cars at speed on the Baltray Road has been banned from driving for two years at Drogheda District Court.
Muhammad Masood with an address at Fair Street Drogheda, was observed by Garda Amy O’Sullivan after he drove up behind her at speed on the Baltray Road before overtaking her car and then ‘cutting in’ abruptly in front of her causing the garda to have to slam on the breaks to avoid crashing into the back of the car.
When the garda followed Masood to a garage at the Boyne Business Park to confront him about the incident he fled the scene.
Garda Amy O’Sullivan from Drogheda Garda Station told the court that on February 18th last at around 2pm she was driving out the Baltray Road from the town centre when she observed a black Saab in her rearview mirror coming up behind her at speed in a 50km/hr zone.
She said the car stayed behind her for one or two seconds and then overtook the car before cutting in in front of it abruptly causing her to have to jam on the breaks to avoid having to run into it.
The car then proceeded to overtake the next car and turn left causing the car in front to also have to break to avoid a collision. She said the vehicle then continued at speed up past the school before she observed the driver parking the car in a garage forecourt in the Boyne Business Park.
‘I asked the driver for his driving licence and he said he didn’t have to show it to me as I wasn’t in uniform,’ she said. Garda O’Sullivan then called for assistance and the defendant ran off.
Inspector Garda Brian Kearns and Garda Ronan McMorrow came to assist Garda O’Sullivan and confronted the defendant as he was getting into a vehicle driven by someone else.
In his evidence, the driver of the second vehicle, Mr Khan, said he had gotten the keys to the Black Saab from Muhammad Masood and he received a call from the defendant a few minutes later asking him to pick him up. He said the car is owned by the garage.
In court he said he did not see Masood parking the car, however this was contradicted by his earlier statement to gardaí in which he said he had seen the defendant drive into the garage.
Garda Ronan McMorrow said he and Inspt Kearns witnessed Masood getting into the passenger seat of a third party car. They recognised him from the description given by Garda O’Sullivan of a man with tanned skin wearing a maroon top and what she described as ‘crazy hair’. Garda Kearns said this was undeniable as the defendant at the time had his hair shaved short on one side and long on the other. The Black Saab was seized as it had no tax.
Muhammad Masood denied driving the car involved. He said he had been in the garage to see his friend, Khan. He said his friend had dropped him off.
Masood said the garda came in looking for the man who had been driving the car.
He said the person who had been driving the car was man who lived downstairs from his flat.
Asked why he had the keys to the car if he had not been driving he said he had noticed the engine was running and the window of the car was down so he took the keys out of the ignition to give to Mr Khan.
Question as to why he had run away when approached by Garda O’Sullivan he agreed he had left the scene but said he had ‘just walked away’ and was not running from the scene.
Having heard the evidence Judge John Coughlan found the defendant guilty and disqualified him from driving for two years and imposed a €200 fine.