A truck with a load of chickens and a Longford collision with a question mark

​A man who crashed a truck carrying live chickens into road signage at the N4 Lisnamuck roundabout in Longford has been ordered to seek medical advice to establish whether an underlying condition, such as sleep apnoea, may have contributed to the collision.

The court heard that no one was injured in the crash with the chickens also emerging unharmed.

Miroslav Deckovic who resides at Carrowmore, Knock, County Mayo appeared before a recent sitting of Longford District Court charged with dangerous driving on March 11, 2025.

In representing the accused, solicitor Frank Gearty told Judge John Brennan that when the case had previously been before Judge Bernadette Owens, he had asked the court to consider imposing a conviction under Section 52 of the Road Traffic Act, meaning Mr Deckovic would be convicted of the lesser charge of careless driving rather than dangerous driving. Judge Owens however had indicated at the time that she first wished to hear evidence from Garda Aidan Lenihan, who had attended the scene of the incident.

Solr Gearty said it was a judicial matter and told the court that a pro-social driving report had been handed in.

In giving evidence, Garda Aidan Lenihan described the scene in Lisnamuck when he arrived following the collision.

He told the court there were witnesses to the incident and that he had observed visible track marks left by the truck.

Garda Lenihan, who played Mr Deckovic’s dash cam footage of the incident for Judge Brennanm, added that the defendant was tested for drugs and alcohol at the scene and had passed both.

“He fully cooperated with me when I dealt with him on the side of the road,” said Garda Lenihan.

“There’s an issue with sleep apnoea … any medical evidence of that?” Judge Brennan inquired.

Solr Gearty replied there was not. The solicitor went on to tell the court that his Croatian client was 42 years of age, divorced with two children and had first come to Ireland in 2016, was a hard worker and “was never on social welfare throughout his time here” adding that his ex-wife also worked full-time as a nurse.

Solr Gearty said the company his client works for is fully compliant with the tachograph requirements and that Mr Deckovic himself strictly complied with regulations, “something they are very particular about.”

Solr Gearty added, “He was in Monaghan that day to collect live chickens and deliver them to a factory in Ballyhaunis. There was a brake mark about 10-15 meters before the roundabout so it appears he did at least, just before the actual impact when it was too late to stop, come to his wits, or wake up, or whatever was the answer.”

He said his client “openly acknowledged” it was a shocking incident and that he was conscious of the absolute seriousness of the matter.

“This is a very difficult case,” remarked Judge Brennan. “Looking at the recorded coverage from the cab itself is pretty shocking."

He noted however that Mr Deckovic had no previous convictions and was an otherwise careful driver.

Judge Brennan added that after having looked at the footage and listened to the evidence, he found it very difficult to see how he could reduce the charge to careless driving given that the incident occurred “on an arterial route”, the main Sligo road.

The Judge pointed out that Mr Deckovic “went through the central area and impacted with road signage.”

He added that even with the sympathy he had for him, noting that he was a hardworking man who was raising two kids and who got on well with his ex-wife, it was still a very serious incident. “It’s a one-off incident I appreciate that, but it’s very serious,” he said.

Judge Brennan told Solr Gearty that if it could be shown through medical evidence there was an issue Mr Deckovic was unaware of at the time, then he would “certainly take a different view of circumstances.”

He added, “I refer to the mention of sleep apnoea which is a common enough situation and there’s a lot of people who suffer from it and don’t realise they do.”

Judge Brennan adjourned the matter to December 8 for mention, with a view to dealing with the matter in early January. The December date, he said, would give the defendant adequate time to seek out a medical report.