Suspended sentence for Australian who tried to ram Garda car

A young Australian man who tried to ram a Garda car four times during a high-speed chase in a stolen truck has walked free from court with a suspended sentence.

Adam O’Mara was aged 17 when he led gardaí on a 40-minute motorway chase, weaving between heavy traffic and overtaking on the wrong side of the road. O’Mara (20) now living at Lower Stabannon, Co Louth, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to unlawful use of a white Toyota Dyna, dangerous driving and driving with no insurance on N1 Motorway Drogheda on February 8th, 2012. He has four previous minor convictions.

Judge Mary Ellen Ring sentenced O’Mara to 2½ years in prison but suspended it fully after noting that he seems to have taken steps to deal with his drug misuse. She described O’Mara’s behaviour as “outrageous” and warned him that a vehicle “is not a toy”.

“A vehicle is a weapon and people who drive it like you do deserve to go to jail,” she said. Judge Ring disqualified O’Mara from driving for four years and ordered him to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for 2½ years. She also ordered him to comply with Probation Services and comply with directions in relation to training, education and drug treatment.

In convoy

A probation order showed that since the offence, O’Mara has completed a welding course and has applied for ongoing training. Garda James Mulhern told Seamus Clarke, prosecuting, that the truck’s owner had reported it missing the day before it was spotted in convoy with another Toyota Dyna near Dublin Airport.

Both vehicles began dangerously overtaking traffic when the Garda cars activated their blue lights. The trucks split up at a roundabout and Garda Mulhern followed O’Mara. He said O’Mara tried to ram his car and continued overtaking and undertaking traffic. The then teenager swerved to ram the Garda car as he took the Swords exit on to the motorway.

He threw cans and bottles, causing Garda Mulhern to reduce speed. O’Mara drove through the closed toll bridge by undertaking cars and ploughing into traffic cones. At this stage the Toyota Dyna had started to emit black smoke. The vehicle eventually came to a stop as the smoke got worse.

Garda Mulhern agreed with James Dwyer, defending, that his client had returned to Ireland from Australia to deal with the case. O’Mara’s mother told the court that the offending behaviour occurred at a time when she was in financial trouble and her son was associating with negative peers. Mr Dwyer said his client had since “pulled up his socks” and has stopped using cannabis.