Man who said he was speeding because girlfriend was in labour is jailed

A young Dublin man who crashed into a van after avoiding a Garda checkpoint claimed he had been speeding because his girlfriend was in labour, a court has heard.

Leon O’Brien (22) was on Tuesday sentenced to the three years and nine months, with the final nine months suspended on strict conditions.

At a sentence hearing last December, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that O'Brien was the only occupant of a black Skoda Octavia when he performed a handbrake turn coming up to a Garda checkpoint and then crashed into a Fingal County Council van.

Garda Neil Cotter said O’Brien fled the vehicle and ran into a nearby caravan park, where he was found underneath his father’s mobile home with a gash to his hand from broken glass.

O’Brien, who also possessed more than €1,400 of cannabis, told gardaí­ in interview he was speeding because his girlfriend was in labour.

Guilty plea

Garda Cotter agreed with Fiona Murphy SC, defending, that O’Brien got news that his girlfriend had given birth while he was in the cells.

O’Brien, of Dunne Street Flats in Summerhill, Dublin, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, endangerment and possession of 240g of cannabis around Donabate, Dublin, on September 27th, 2016.

He has 75 previous convictions for mostly minor road-traffic offences and drug offences at District Court level.

Judge Melanie Greally said the driver of the van suffered severe consequences, which led to a significant deterioration in his quality of life. He suffers from chronic pain and his “social and personal life has taken a very considerable setback”.

She acknowledged O’Brien’s plea of guilty, his remorse and the insight into his actions. She also accepted that he had a limited history of violence.

Judge Greally suspended the final nine months of the sentence on strict conditions, including that he remain under supervision from the Probation Service for 12 months.