Four-year driving ban given to man who obstructed gardaí after crashing his car

A Killenaule man who shouted profanities at gardaí after he crashed his car has been given a four-year driving ban by Thurles District Court.

Michael Cleary, 48, of 2 Glengoole North, Killenaule, was convicted for failure to comply with gardaí while they attempted to collect a breath sample at Thurles Garda Station on July 30, 2022.

The court heard that on the day of the incident, gardaí received a report of a single-car collision in Gortnahoe.

The gardaí told the court that they saw a Toyota Avensis turned over on its side, pointing toward Gortnahoe village with no driver.

A witness at the scene told them she had seen a male in a pink t-shirt run toward a house.

When the gardaí found the defendant he was in a hedge, upset and voluntarily admitted to being the driver.

The gardaí gave evidence that they smelled alcohol on the defendant and believed him to be intoxicated, so they cautioned and arrested him.

The court heard that the defendant told the gardaí he was driving from Urlingford when he crashed. He told them they didn’t know what was going on in his life and that he just wanted to die.

The guards said Mr Cleary was “very agitated” and told them they didn’t care about him.

The man was then taken to Thurles Garda Station, where he refused to give a breath sample, the court heard. The man was offered alternative methods of blood or urine samples but refused both.

The gardaí told the court that the man continued to disrupt evidence collection and shouted obscenities at the officers.

“He was difficult to deal with, to say the least,” said the guard.

The court heard that the man had told gardaí that he could not provide a breath sample due to his asthma. Gardaí told the court that they outlined the consequences for not providing a sample.

He then provided the first sample but on the second had “pretended” to blow into the collection device.

“I could clearly see he was not providing a breath sample,” the guard told the court. The court heard that the man continued to shout profanities at the gardaí until the machine timed out.

Solicitor for the accused Philip Egan, asked the gardaí if they acknowledged that Mr Cleary had complied for the first sample but may not have been able to for the second due to his asthma.

The guard told the court he didn’t think so because he had enough breath to shout abuse at them.

SUBMISSION

Mr Egan argued that to convict in the case, it must be shown that the defendant was drinking and driving.

As the witness was not in court, their evidence was hearsay. He acknowledged his client’s admission but argued that he was not in any fit mental state to make it.

He told the court that the arrest was therefore “unlawful” and asked the judge to dismiss the case.

In response, the State argued that no medical evidence had been provided to show that the defendant was not mentally competent.

They also told the court that the opinion that Mr Cleary was drunk was “reasonably formed”.

Judge Elizabeth MacGrath refused the submission for dismissal. She acknowledged that the witness evidence was hearsay but that Mr Cleary had admitted to being the driver after he was cautioned.

She also said that being intoxicated is not grounds for dismissal based on mental state. And where there is a refusal to allow a sample to be taken, whether the defendant was driving does not need to be proven.

APOLOGY

Mr Cleary took the stand and told the court that he had been selling the car the day of the incident.

He said he had been drinking while waiting for a potential buyer. He said there were things from the day he does not recall, like how many guards were present when he was arrested. He did recall two people taking the car for a test drive. He acknowledged he was “in a bad way”.

He told the court he is embarrassed by his behaviour and apologises to the gardaí for his language.

In mitigation, his solicitor told the court that Mr Cleary had difficulties in the past and had been “self-medicating” with alcohol, though he does not believe he has a problem.

Judge MacGrath banned the defendant from driving for four years and fined him €400.