A garda who suffered serious spinal injuries when he was hit by a car at a checkpoint has told a court that it has changed his life and stopped his career progression in a job he loved.
The driver of the car, Charanand Flannery (25), of Hampton Wood Drive, Finglas, Dublin 11, pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment and possession of over €10,000 of cocaine at an M50 checkpoint on August 26th, 2019.
Flannery was on Wednesday sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, after Judge Martin Nolan described his behaviour as “unforgivable”.
In a victim impact statement which he read aloud in court, Garda David Currivan thanked his colleagues and his partner for their support, without which he said he would not be here.
Gda Currivan told the court that on the day in question, he was at a checkpoint on the M50 northbound at Tallaght dealing with a different car for a minor road traffic infringement.
Flannery, who was driving a black Toyota Avensis, was asked to pull over onto the hard shoulder behind this car and wait to speak with gardaí.
Gda Currivan said he heard a revving and spinning of wheels and when he turned to see the Toyota accelerating towards him with a burst of speed, he knew he was going to be hit.
He braced himself against the first car and immediately felt “intense and unbearable pain” all along his right side, he told the court.
Garda Currivan was sandwiched between the two cars and suffered fractured vertebrae and nerve damage, causing severe back pain requiring ongoing interventions and surgery.
He was off work for nine months and has had 102 injections into his back in the last 18 months.
“I lost all self-worth, ability and confidence,” said Gda Currivan, adding that he suffered severe anxiety, deep depression, panic attacks, dizzy spells and was bedridden and unable to leave his home.
Gda Currivan is back at work but on restricted desk duty due to his injuries and he said he is unable to progress in his career or become a dog handler as he had wished.
“It has changed my life; I've a long road to recovery,” he said.
Flannery has 116 previous convictions, including 75 for road traffic offences and 12 for drugs matters. He had been disqualified from driving at the time.
Another garda told Diarmud Collins BL, prosecuting, that after Flannery accelerated into a live lane of traffic and almost hit a motorist, gardaí activated their lights and sirens and gave chase.
The Toyota Avensis driven by Flannery was located a short time afterwards with significant damage after it came off a slip road and overturned.
Members of the public pointed to where Flannery and a passenger had run off and they were both arrested.
Gardaí found two bags of cocaine valued at €10,290 in the footwell of the passenger seat.
Pieter Le Vert BL, defending, said Flannery had an “absolutely disastrous” childhood and went into care from the age of eight to 18, after which there was no place for him to go.
The court heard probation records from when Flannery was aged 14 show that he had serious anger issues, acute vulnerability and was being targeted by older men to become involved in the drugs trade.
Flannery started taking drugs himself at the age of 16, the court heard, and became addicted to cocaine and cannabis.
He has three children from a previous relationship whom he is not allowed to see, and is now in a stable relationship, the court heard.
Flannery has worked in the past as a general labourer and in scaffolding.
Mr Le Vert said his client was very remorseful and upset by the extent of Garda Currivan's suffering, which he had not realised until he saw the victim impact statement.
Judge Nolan said Flannery had a “long-standing involvement” with the drugs trade, both as an addict and a seller, combined with a long history of offending behaviour.
The judge said the reckless nature of Flannery's driving, the fact that he was disqualified from driving at the time, and had drugs in his system, were seriously aggravating factors.
“His behaviour is unforgivable. He endangered another person. He had choices to make on the day and he made the wrong choices,” said Judge Nolan, disqualifying Flannery from driving for a further five years.
Flannery was sentenced to five-and-a-half years for endangerment and got a concurrent three-year sentence for possessing the cocaine for sale or supply.
