Boy 'nearly ran over' three children on speeding scrambler

A youth who nearly ran over three children while doing 80kph on a scrambler motorcycle has been remanded on bail pending sentence.

The 17-year-old boy pleaded guilty at the Children's Court to dangerous driving, having no licence or motor insurance as well as no licence plate and not wearing a helmet, in connection with a high-speed pursuit, in Finglas, in Dublin, on the afternoon of May 12 last year.

Garda Niall Bright told Judge Heather Perrin that the boy used the scrambler on a public road at high speed“on the wrong side of the road and narrowly avoided the patrol car”.

The boy was clocked reaching speeds of 80 kph in a Finglas residential estate and at one point drove through a park where three children, aged eight to 10 years, were playing.

“They were two to three feet from the bike as it turned,” garda Bright said. He added that the boy had “no regard for the safety of the children on the footpath or anyone else in the area”.

Judge Perrin was told that the boy had no prior convictions and had not come to garda notice since.

Solicitor defending Michelle Finan said her client understood the seriousness of his actions but was pleading with the court not to impose a driving ban on him.

She said that he has now got a provisional driver's licence and is insured.

Ms Finan said that the boy, who was accompanied to his case by his mother, had educational problems and for a time had been “out of control”.

“You could have killed those children,” said Judge Perrin adding that she took a very serious view of the incident.

She adjourned sentencing until June to allow time for a probation report to be furnished.