Woman had to be cut from car in Laois

A woman had to be cut from a car when a lorry driver rear ended it while using cruise control. 

Damian Kus, 44, of 27 Willowbrook Court, Mill Road, Middleton, Cork admitted to driving carelessly on the R445 on August 16, 2022. 

Garda Sergeant JJ Kirby said gardai responded to a traffic accident on the road between Ballybrittas and Monasterevin on August 16 at 9pm.

He said the defendant was driving a HGV and collided with a car in front. He said the driver of the car,  a woman in her 50s, had to be cut from the vehicle after the collision.

“She still suffers from severe neck pain,” said Sgt Kirby.  

He said the defendant has no previous convictions and had cooperated fully with gardai. 

A solicitor for the accused said his client was a Polish national who had been driving for a transport company. He said the man had the vehicle on cruise control but for some reason nothing happened when he applied the brake. 

The solicitor said the man had never been in trouble before and has since set up a construction business in Cork. 

“He was fulsome in his contrition,” the solicitor told the sitting of Portlaoise District Court. 

Judge Andrew Cody took the early plea of guilty into account as he convicted the man and fined him €500.