A young car thief who wrote off a Garda squad car after he performed a handbrake turn, drove straight at it and rammed it head-on during a life threatening chase, has been detained for 21 months.
The Dublin Children's Court heard that the Ballyfermot teenager (15), but aged 14 at the time, had pleaded guilty to a litany of dangerous driving and criminal charges arising from the incident.
He also pleaded guilty to other car theft offences as well as skipping court, being dangerously intoxicated and trespassing charges.
A squad car and the stolen car were written off, pedestrians had to flee, a cyclist, fearing for his safety jumped over a wall to avoid being hit and the stolen car flew over two humpback bridges, the court heard. Garda Graham Kavanagh told Judge William Early that the ramming incident took place on December 6th last. The boy, who was drunk on alcohol bought in an off-licence, had attacked the car's owner outside his home and stolen his car.
Garda Kavanagh's squad car, which had been patrolling the Blackditch Road, Dublin, took up pursuit, but the boy drove on to a footpath and collided with his vehicle, hitting its front wing. He then drove further along a footpath where pedestrians had to run to avoid getting run over.
The boy then led the gardaí on a 2½ mile chase. Finally he performed a 360 degree handbrake turn and drove at the Garda car, which he rammed head on.
The judge described the evidence as "quite shocking," and also said: "he put the lives of the gardaí and others at risk and is lucky not to be facing more serious charges."
He sentenced the boy to 21 months in the Trinity House Detention Centre and banned him from driving for five years.