A DETECTIVE Garda, who was involved in a crash on the M50 in Dublin, told investigators he drank four or five lager shandies earlier that day but was fit to drive.
Det Garda Kevin Keys, who is attached to Mountjoy station in Dublin, admits he lost control of an unmarked Garda car, which was involved in a crash on February 6th, 2010.
However, he has pleaded not guilty at Dublin District Court to dangerous driving and taking the Ford Mondeo without authorisation from his Garda station.
The court has already heard that at about 7.50 pm, the Mondeo crossed three lanes of the motorway until it collided with a Hyundai Sante Fe 4X4 driven by Gareth Wooster, who was not seriously injured.
Det Garda Keys had been rostered to work that day from 9am to 5pm, but at about 2pm he went to a pub in Phibsboro and stayed there with colleagues until 7.30pm.
The trial continued yesterday before Judge Conal Gibbons.
Garda Anthony Kelly, a forensic crash investigator, said he examined the scene about five hours after the collision.
He found driving conditions were good and over the previous three years, including periods when there were roadworks, there had been no accidents at that stretch of motorway, near the exit for the N81.
One of the lanes had been blocked for roadworks and a sign saying “keep left, keep right” was viewable from 75 metres.
It had been estimated that the Mondeo had been travelling at about 95km/h when the speed limit in the area had been reduced to 60km/h due to the road works.
“A lower speed would have allowed the vehicle to stop before reaching the sign in lane one,” Garda Kelly told Ronan Kennedy, prosecuting.
Tyre marks indicated the Mondeo travelled across the motorway and rotated clockwise for 22 metres until it came to a halt. Mr Wooster’s 4X4 rotated anticlockwise and went a further 15 metres before it stopped.
Tests revealed that the unmarked Garda car’s ABS – or anti-lock braking system – was defective. Garda Kelly said that could result in wheels locking and the driver not having control over steering.
He also agreed with solicitor Dara Robinson, defending, that evidence that the Mondeo was seen “wobbling” was consistent with wheels locking. He also described information on road signs as “conflicting”.
The court heard a transcript of Det Garda Keys’s interview with Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission investigators. He told them that he was delivering a witness summons in relation to a forthcoming murder trial.
He agreed he had been in the pub for a number of hours, but he had consumed four or five Heineken shandies, a large meal, two pints of water and some coffee. He disagreed with a statement from a colleague who told investigators he drank about six pints of lager.
In the interview, Det Garda Keys said that that colleague, who was off duty at the time, had drunk eight pints. “I cannot say whether or not his memory would have been affected by this.” When it was put to him in the interview that he was unfit to drive, that he took the car without authority and failed to seek medical attention because he would likely fail a breath test, Det Garda Keys replied: “Absolutely not”.
He was brought by ambulance to Tallaght hospital but did not go in for treatment and left. He told the investigators he did not want to be waiting for up to 15 hours in the casualty department before he was seen and that he decided to go to a private clinic instead.
Det Garda Keys, who suffered six broken ribs, claimed he was brought by his wife in a Range Rover to two clinics, but they were closed when he got there; he sought treatment later and had no recollection of the crash.
Darren Wright, a senior investigating officer with the ombudsman commission, told the court that CCTV footage from the clinics named by the Garda was viewed.
However, that was inconclusive because there had been a number of vehicles in the footage similar to the Range Rover.
After the State concluded its case, the defence argued for a dismissal on both counts. Mr Robinson said there was no evidence of any dangerous driving before Det Garda Keys applied the car’s ABS brakes, which were defective.
He said while Mr Wooster had said in evidence that Det Keys was driving faster than him, another witness did not agree.
He also asked the judge to note that there was no evidence of any road signs indicating the speed limit. Mr Robinson submitted that his client had authority to use the unmarked car and was on his way to serve a witness summons.
Judge Gibbons adjourned the case until February 21st for the prosecution to reply to the defence submissions.