Critic claims taxi knocked him down

Food critic Tom Doorley has told a court he suffered two broken shoulders when he was knocked down by a taxi in Dublin city-centre.

Taxi-driver Mark Cruikshanks, aged 38, of Cushlawn Park, Tallaght, Dublin, has pleaded not guilty to careless driving at Fleet St on the evening of October 17, 2014. He claims Mr Doorley rushed out in front of his Toyota Avensis.

Mr Doorley yesterday told Judge Miriam Walsh at Dublin District Court that he suffered two broken shoulders when he was knocked down. He claimed he checked if any cars were coming before he crossed the Fleet St junction with Westmoreland St.

After hearing prosecution and defence witnesses, Judge Walsh granted an adjournment to consider her verdict. The case resumes next week.

Mr Doorley, who appears as a resident critic on TV3 reality show The Restaurant, told the court that he lives in Cork but also has a flat in Dublin. He said he went into the city centre on the day in question for a business meeting and lunch at the Merrion Hotel.

He drank two average-sized glasses of red wine. Afterwards he went to Trinity College Dublin to check some references for a book he was preparing, he said.

At about 6pm, he went to another restaurant for a meal, during which he drank two bottles of water. He then decided to get a taxi home and walked along Westmoreland St. At the junction with Fleet Street, he said, he was on the outside flank of a number of people crossing the road.

“Due to a particular childhood experience I am extremely cautious crossing the road,” he told Judge Walsh. He said he looked up Fleet St and confirmed nothing was coming. He claimed he proceeded to cross and recalled that as he was about to step on to the pavement on the far side kerb he spun and ended up on a bonnet of a car.

He said he then landed on the ground on his back.

In cross-examination, Mr Cruikshanks’ solicitor put it to him he did not mention in his statement about the drinks. Mr Doorley said he did not think it was relevant but it was put to him that it is relevant if someone was drunk. “I certainly was not drunk,” Mr Doorley replied.

CCTV evidence was shown and medical reports were furnished to the court. Garda Declan Ryan said it was extremely wet and there would have been a lot of traffic.

Mr Cruikshanks told the court that

Mr Doorley had been in the middle of the road when he was hit and other people were still waiting to cross. He said he would have braked if he had seen him but “he rushed out in front of me”.