‘Desperado’ jailed for 16km chase in minibus

A "desperado" who stole a minibus for a highly dangerous escapade has been jailed for 18 months.

Trevor Hegarty drank cider and beer as he drove from Cork City to Blarney and back as sparks and dust flew, pub customers leapt out of harm’s way, and motorists pulled into ditches to avoid potentially fatal crashes.

Hegarty, aged 18, of 48 Gurranabraher Avenue, Cork, received a three-year sentence, with half of it suspended, at Cork Circuit Criminal Court on counts that included stealing the bus and causing criminal damage to it, to other cars and to two garden walls.

Garda Keith Aher said Hegarty was drunk when arrested in the crashed vehicle, his head was cut, the floor was scattered with cider and beer cans, and his pregnant girlfriend was a passenger in the bus.

Judge David Riordan said after hearing evidence: “It conjures up images of a desperado being chased all over the place. He was not stopping when required to do, in fact he was challenging the Blarney patrol car.”

Garda Aher said the entire incident took about 50 minutes, from the time Hegarty drove off in the bus shortly after 11pm on April 10.

The minibus was stolen from a storage yard at Dublin Hill. Defence barrister John Devlin characterised it as opportunistic in the sense that the keys were in the bus, although not in the ignition.

Hegarty crashed into a number of parked vehicles causing thousands of euro in damage, including writing off a €9,000 Mercedes.

Gardaí tried to stop the minibus at Blackstone Bridge, but Hegarty ignored sirens and blue flashing lights to drive on to Commons Rd and out to Blarney, driving past stop signs and at times on to the incorrect side of the road.

“In Blarney, pedestrians coming from a pub were forced to run out of the way to avoid being hit by the minibus,” Garda Aher said.

“[At Faggott Hill] ... it overtook the Blarney patrol car. The gardaí could see the headlights on an oncoming car.”

The patrol car braked hard and the minibus pulled on to the correct side and a collision was avoided, but the minibus crashed soon afterwards.

Between damage to the bus and other vehicles, and two garden walls at Dublin Hill at the start of the escapade, the bill came to well over €20,000.