A man has been jailed for two years for his dangerous driving during a high-speed Garda chase, which only ended when he crashed into a road sign.
John Greene (24), formerly of Bremore Pastures Green, Balbriggan, Co Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two counts of dangerous driving around the Old Naas Road on the night of June 5th, 2019.
He also admitted criminal damage of a road sign on the same occasion, resisting a police officer and driving without insurance and with no licence.
The court heard Greene drove at over 90kmph in a 50km zone in wet road conditions and repeatedly executed handbrake turns, causing his car to skid and drive across the line of traffic and Luas lines.
At one point, Greene did a handbrake turn to spin 180 degrees and then drove head-on at the Garda patrol car which was in pursuit, forcing the driver to take evasive action.
Greene was already the subject of a four-year driving ban imposed by a court in 2016 when he was convicted of drunk-driving and driving while uninsured.
Crash
Detective Garda Jason O'Carroll told the court that when Greene collided into the road sign, gardaí went to the driver's window and saw Greene was trying to start the car again.
Det Gda O'Carroll said he used his ASP baton to smash the window open and took the keys out of the ignition. Greene then tried to escape from the other side of the car and it took a number of gardaí to restrain him, with one having to deploy “pepper spray” on Greene.
Dt Gda O'Carroll said Greene gave a false name and an address in the UK but later gave an address at Meadowlands, Tralee, Co Kerry. Gardaí were finally able to obtain his real identity and an address in Bluebell, Dublin and discovered there was a warrant out for his arrest.
His previous convictions include theft offences, road traffic offences and one offence of burglary.
The cost to repair the electronic road sign was just under €7,000.
Defending counsel told the court Greene was still a young man who had a difficult upbringing and has struggled with depression and anxiety.
Judge Martin Nolan said that while he took those factors into consideration, Greene deserved a custodial sentence, saying: “He has been a nuisance”.
The judge imposed a two-year prison term and a driving ban of five years.
