A 21-year-old man who drove at over 100 m.p.h. to escape from gardaí before meeting his death when his car spun out of control, had more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in his blood, an inquest heard yesterday.
His Toyota Corolla GTI had caught the attention of the traffic corps who had set up a checkpoint in the centre of Dundalk on the night of February 18th, 2000, as part of an ongoing campaign against drink drivers.
The gardaí had wanted to talk to Mr Darren Toner after he drove at 63 m.p.h. in a 30 m.p.h. zone.
Mr Toner had stopped at traffic lights but when Garda Martin McDonagh got out of the Garda car to talk to him, he sped away.
The deceased, from Charlemont Square, Bessbrook, Co Armagh drove through three red traffic lights along the main road from Dundalk towards the Border at Hackballscross pursued by an unmarked patrol car fitted with a camera. Mr Toner was recorded travelling at over 105 m.p.h.
He lost control of his car in a series of bad bends. Gardaí found his car embedded in hedges on the wrong side of the road. The driver had been flung out the rear window and was found in a ditch.
Garda Andrew Cosgrove told the inquest that Mr Toner would probably have been given a speeding ticket and "there was no reason for him to reverse away". He was driving a Northern Ireland registered car and gardaí presumed he was heading for the Border.
A post mortem found he died from injuries consistent with the accident including a severe skull fracture. His blood alcohol level was 170 mg, the legal limit is 80 mg. Louth County Coroner Mr Ronan Maguire expressed sympathy to Mr Toner's family.