Drink driver ‘feared chasing gardaí were boy-racers’

A DRINK driver, who was never in trouble in his life, panicked when he saw the blue flashing light of gardaí following him and feared they might be boy-racers chasing him.

Pat Sheehan, aged 53, of Pouladown, Watergrasshill, Co Cork, was convicted and fined €250 yesterday for driving with 90mgs of alcohol in his blood which exceeded the 80mgs limit on April 11 last.

Judge Con O’Leary fined him another €250 for failing to stop for gardaí.

“It was a bad road with potholes and the next thing I was followed by this car with a blue light that came on behind me. I drove on in to the driveway of a friend of mine. Two lads approached me from behind. I opened the door of the car, I didn’t know if they were guards or not, there was no siren. It could have been boy-racers with blue lights… I said ‘please leave me alone, I’m grand, I’m fine’”, Sheehan testified at Cork District Court.

As well as the offences for which he was fined, Sheehan was also prosecuted for assaulting Garda John Kearney.

Garda Kearney testified, “I was standing to one side. He elbowed me in the chest. I felt a sharp pain in my chest.

“He pushed and shoved and knocked me to the ground.”

Garda Alan Murray said he intervened as Garda Kearney and the defendant were on the ground and put handcuffs on Sheehan.

The defendant said he did not assault the garda and said he never did anything like that to anyone in his life. He also said he could not have done so because his hands had been cuffed behind his back before he got out of the car. He said he co-operated fully at the scene.

Inspector Eddie Golden said in cross-examination, “The evidence is that you did not co-operate with them at all, you got very aggressive.

“You elbowed him (Garda Kearney) in the chest.”

The defendant denied all that and repeated, “I never touched anyone in my life.”

Judge O’Leary did not accept the defendant’s claim that he had handcuffs put on behind his back as he sat in his car and he convicted him of the assault.

However, he marked the offence as taken into consideration in light of the defendant’s clean record. A charge of obstructing Garda Murray was dismissed.

Solicitor Mortimer Kelleher submitted the margin over the limit was very slight and emphasised the defendant’s very good character.

Sheehan will be disqualified from driving for a year from February 1.