A teenage boy has avoided a custodial sentence after leading gardaí on a very dangerous Dublin-to-Laois traffic pursuit where he reached speeds of more than 200km/h and drove on the wrong side of dual carriageways.
The 17-year-old, who cannot be identified because he is a minor, faced charges of endangerment of life, car theft and 13 counts of dangerous driving on the evening of April 21st last when he drove “back and forth” across all four lanes of the M50.
The accused had faced a preliminary hearing at the Dublin Children’s Court to determine his trial venue.
Judge Paul Kelly held that the case was too severe for the Children’s Court to accept jurisdiction and agreed with the Director of Public Prosecutions that it must proceed to the Circuit Court, which has broader sentencing powers.
He had remarked: “It’s an absolute miracle no one was killed or seriously harmed.”
In October, the youth signed guilty pleas to endangerment of life and stealing the car, and Judge Kelly granted an order sending him forward to the higher court for sentencing in December.
Judge Kelly was informed that the accused received concurrent two-year and 18-month sentences, but they were suspended for two years, with the order to take effect later this month. The finalisation of the remaining dangerous driving charges in the Children’s Court has been adjourned until February 3rd next.
Earlier, Garda Aaron Webb outlined the evidence and played video footage, mostly from squad car dashcams.
He stated that the 2012-registered Toyota Corolla was stolen within the previous 24 hours in Kilkenny and was detected in Dublin at about 7pm on Easter Monday at the Chapelizod bypass.
Footage showed it speeding at 127km/h as it approached and passed the Criminal Courts of Justice on the wrong side of the road, and proceeded to Parkgate Street.
He turned onto the Luas tracks near the quays and drove past the Heuston Station stop platform and onto St John’s Road West, where the car hit 137km/h in a 50km/h zone. It accelerated to 160km/h on the N4 and then drove onto the M50, forcing another car onto the hard shoulder.
Between Junctions 7 and 9, the teen went back and forth across all four lanes of the motorway.
He also avoided interception attempts to box him in during the incident.
The court heard he was travelling at 156km/h, exceeding the 50km/h limit, as he steered onto the N7 at Citywest and almost collided with two other cars.
Garda Webb said the boy, who had two teenage passengers, drove across four lanes and then collided with a van with a “side swipe” while doing 160km/h at Rathcoole. The van driver suffered whiplash and needed to go to hospital.
The boy continued driving the badly damaged Corolla and reached 203km/h when the car had a blowout. He kept driving, even with one tyre “disintegrated”, and was clocked at 177km/h.
The court heard that when he passed Kildare Village, he moved over onto the wrong side of the N7 and continued driving that way for 12 minutes, covering 21km, against the flow of traffic.
Garda units were “shadowing” him at this time on the correct lanes. Near Junction 15 in Co Laois, gardaí deployed a stinger device to deflate the stolen car’s tyres. It continued moving at speed, with video footage capturing sparks coming from the vehicle, which then came to a halt.
A Garda armed support unit also joined the pursuit.
The teenager had no prior convictions and claimed in court he was pepper-sprayed after the car stopped and there was a “stand-off” with gardaí.
His solicitor Brian Keenan said the teenager, who was accompanied to court by family, had suffered trauma in his childhood and had been affected by a bereavement at a young age, and had attended mental health services.
Mr Keenan said the boy realised he could have lost his own life and cost other people their lives during the pursuit, and he was apologetic for that.
The court also heard that, following his arrest, he made admissions and apologised for putting people’s lives at risk.