Boy drove stolen car on wrong side of motorway and broke policeman’s arm, court hears – The Irish Times

The 15-year-old driver of a stolen car broke the arm of a security guard who was closing the car door during a fight as she tried to pull him out of the car, a court has heard.

Det Gda Kate Gilligan, in her victim impact statement, vividly described the danger the teenager caused himself and other road users during a police pursuit when he drove into oncoming traffic on the motorway, rammed a police car and kept changing lanes.

The boy told the court through his lawyer that he did not intend to harm the officer and was sorry.

“If he had continued, it could have had devastating consequences for other road users and himself,” Det Gda Gilligan said. She said she would break her arm any day because of what could have happened.

The now 16-year-old, who cannot be identified because he is a minor, pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment, assault, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, dangerous driving and damaging a Garda official vehicle in south Dublin along the M50 in August. 24th 2023

Judge Orla Crowe said Det Gda Gilligan’s evidence highlighted the danger this type of driving poses to the public, as well as to police trying to stop it in a safe manner.

Judge Crowe praised police for their fair evidence in the case.

The judge on Friday said the boy had shown “significant improvement” and had made positive progress over the past year. She said she was going to adjourn the case for six months to allow him to continue working and asked for an updated probation report.

Det Gda Gilligan told the court that that night police received reports of two stolen cars driving dangerously against traffic on the M11 in Rathnew, Co Wicklow.

She said that when officers later encountered one of the cars driven by the boy, it was traveling towards Dublin on the right side of the road. He was unable to be stopped and gardaí began pursuing him.

Det Gda Gilligan told how the boy once rammed a police car and tried to drive onto the bypass onto the opposite side of the motorway.

Gardaí made the decision to stop the vehicle and made a maneuver to stop it.

Det Gda Gilligan said at that point she saw an opportunity to get the driver out of the car, but her arm was injured as she struggled with the driver.

She broke two bones in her arm when the driver’s door closed and was out of work for 11 weeks. She said the incident had no lasting impact on her or her work.

The teenager attempted to escape but was arrested and taken to hospital for treatment of his injuries.

He told police he didn’t steal the car, but used it the day after it was stolen. He apologized to other road users and cooperated with police.

Dominic McGinn, defending, said his client was keen to tell police the injury to her arm was not deliberate. He said the boy wrote a letter apologizing and regretting his actions. He said that after these events he matured and would never do anything like that again.

Mr McGinn asked the court to take into account the fact that his client co-operated with the investigation, pleaded guilty at an early stage and expressed genuine remorse.

He said the boy had matured over the past year, part of which he had spent in custody. He said it had a “beneficial effect” and he used the experience to do something with his life and not go back into a spiral of resentment. He took advantage of the services available to him.

The lawyer said the boy had complied with his bail conditions and had not reoffended since his release.

He said the probation report outlined difficulties in raising the boy, but his family was now stable and supportive; he worked to solve the problem of his education. The report said his risk of reoffending had decreased and was no longer associated with negative peer influences.