Man who 'scattered' emergency crews on Tipperary motorway is jailed for dangerous driving

A motorist who drove through an accident scene on the M7 scattering emergency services personnel has been jailed by Judge Elizabeth MacGrath at Nenagh District Court for dangerous driving.

Dion Franklin, 24, of 41 Sycamore Avenue, Rathbane, Limerick, pleaded to two counts of dangerous driving at Birdhill and Carrigatoher, Nenagh on September 20, 2022.

He also pleaded to possession of a balaclava with intent to commit a crime and possession of cannabis and possession for sale or supply at Benedine, Nenagh, on the same occasion.

The court heard that the emergency services were dealing with an incident at 1.30am on the Tipperary / Limerick border in which a deer had been struck and killed when the gardaí got a phone call at 2.30am to say a car had failed to stop at a roundabout in Limerick and was heading along the motorway, which was closed to traffic due to the incident.

At the time, the deer had been placed on a vehicle and it was being taken away.

The driver of the vehicle, Mr Franklin, drove through the location of the incident on the hard shoulder and fire officers and gardaí had to run out of his way.

The gardaí activated the blue light on their patrol car and followed the vehicle which went towards Dublin and hit over 204km/h at Birdhill. The garda patrol car had been travelling at 204km/h, but the driver of the vehicle was still pulling away from them, the court heard.

At the exit for Nenagh, the car left the motorway and drove on the old Dublin road out of Nenagh before rejoining the motorway at the Thurles junction before heading back along the motorway towards Limerick.

The gardaí in the patrol car did a u-turn and followed it, observing it swerve from left to right before coming to a halt.

When they approached the vehicle, the doors were locked and Mr Franklin tried to put it in gear, but the gears were grinding, the court heard, and the car wouldn’t go into gear.

They broke the window of the vehicle and discovered a balaclava on the passenger seat along with cannabis and the car’s correct registration plate.

Mr Franklin was brought to Henry Street Garda Station where he was charged.

The court was told that he was not charged with stealing the vehicle and its owner had never been located.

It was the garda’s belief that the vehicle was being used in order to steal another vehicle.

Mr Franklin told the court that his driving had been unacceptable on the night and he apologised to those concerned.

“It’s not who I am. I am not a scumbag,” he said.

Mr Franklin said that he had panicked and should have stopped.

“I had a drug problem with cannabis and I was put in a situation where I needed money to pay off a debt,” he said.

The defendant said that he was working with an engineering company but was currently out of work as he had fractured his leg in two places in a scooter accident.

Judge MacGrath said that in relation to the dangerous driving the emergency services had to "scatter out of the way".

“I am aware there was some pressure on you but it doesn’t excuse the level of dangerous driving. I can’t avoid a custodial sentence,” she said.

Judge MacGrath jailed Mr Franklin for a total of six months for dangerous driving and disqualified him from driving for a total of four years.

She fined him €150 for possession of cannabis.

Recognizance were fixed in his own bond of €500, with an independent surety of €1,000, to be approved by the court, with €500 to be lodged in cash.