Wrecked cars litter Dublin streets after bus driver’s hour of madness

WRECKED cars were left strewn along one of the country’s busiest roads after a bus driver rampaged through Dublin, bringing chaos and terror to the capital city.

During an hour of madness, the man stole a private coach from his employers, drove along the Luas tram lines, tore the wrong way down a packed road, ploughed into two dozen cars and other vehicles, killed one woman and injured 14 people.

The disgruntled employee of a private bus company drove for miles pursued by 18 garda units and the air support helicopter, forcing his way through roadblocks and evading the shots of gardaí who tried to fire at his tyres.

Gardaí used themselves as roadblocks, driving their cars into the path of the bus in heroic attempts to force it to a stop before it could cause further injury or death.

Fourteen Garda vehicles were damaged and five members of the force were injured.

Three of them were taken from a car that was pushed over 100 yards in front of the bus after the officers tried to block its way.

The worst scene of destruction was at Bluebell where the bus, with the garda car in front, slammed into a line of civilian vehicles as motorists and passengers fled for their lives.

A 61-year-old woman was fatally struck in front of her horrified daughter as they tried to escape their car.

The shocking spree came to an end only when the driver returned to his employer’s base and attempted to make a fast turn in a tight corner, crashing the bus, with pursuing gardaí just seconds away.

Even when he was cornered, he tried to evade capture, threatening gardaí and resisting arrest.

He was taken to hospital for medical attention and remained in custody last night.

The terrifying events that brought mayhem and death to a sunny Sunday afternoon began early yesterday morning when the bus driver turned up to work at the Dualway Coaches base at Keatings Park, Rathcoole, in west Co Dublin.

It is believed the 36-year -old man, from the Tallaght area of Dublin, had a grievance against his employers, for whom he had worked for over two years.

He was rostered to do a job picking up passengers in the west of the city but he did not keep the appointment.

Concerns grew during the morning when he did not return to base and refused to respond to attempts by colleagues to contact him by phone or radio. Dualway general manager David McConn tracked him down to the quays near Heuston Station around midday but he refused to hand over the bus and instead took off, narrowly avoiding hitting Mr McConn who was forced to alert gardaí.

Attempts by officers to intercept the driver sparked off a furious chase as he sped through residential streets and busy thoroughfares before making a suicidal bolt onto the Luas tram lines.

Gardaí tracked the driver from the road, frantically radioing warnings to transport chiefs to stop all trams, evacuate passengers and clear people waiting at stops away from the tracks.

The garda helicopter was deployed to follow the bus from the air, relaying its movements back to officers on the ground, who raced to junctions to try to block the driver if he tried to get back on the road.

Shots were fired on three occasions as detectives in pursuit on the road drew parallel to the bus on the tracks and attempted to puncture the tyres, but Luas protection barriers and the speed of the bus prevented them landing a shot on target.

A ‘stinger’ chain fitted with spikes was laid across the road at one point but, intended for use with joyriders in regular cars, it failed to penetrate the thick tyres of the 53-seater vehicle.

Several times gardaí blocked junctions with their cars but each time the driver forced his way through, knocking cars aside and ramming motorists out of his way.

Sirens blazed across the city as fleets of ambulances followed the trail of destruction, ferrying the injured to St James’ Hospital in the city and to Tallaght Hospital in the suburbs.

Some of the 14 people hospitalised had multiple injuries, although none are believed to be life-threatening. Paramedics treated many other people for shock at the scene of collisions.

Major traffic disruption ensued in parts of the city for the rest of the day as Garda technical experts worked to compile records of crash scenes before clearing routes for return to use for this morning’s rush hour.

Luas services on a section of the Red Line were also cancelled while safety officers carried out an inspection of the tracks. Most services are expected to return to normal today.

Gardaí from four Dublin city stations, Dublin Metropolitan Headquarters and the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation were all involved in the operation and an incident room has been set up at Kilmainham garda station. Gardaí are asking witnesses to get in contact on 01-6669700.

The driver was arrested under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act and was detained overnight at Kevin Street Garda station in the city.