Garda who suffered back injury in car chase awarded €789,000

A Cork garda who suffered a back injury when his patrol car was rammed by a stolen car during a high-speed chase 13 years ago has been awarded €789,000 by the High Court.

Noel Kevane, aged 43, of Rosscarbery, Cork — who was later retired from the force — was a bad candidate for the 1999 crash and has had “a torrid time to date”, Mr Justice William Hanna said.

The father of three had a “spontaneous nervous breakdown” five years after the accident and was retired from the gardaí in Nov 2009 due to depressive illness.