Drink driver jailed for crashing car with no lights on and on the wrong side of the road

Gordon Deegan

A drink driver who crashed his car into a car being driven by a young Clare woman and then left the scene of the late night crash on foot has been jailed for 16 months.

At Ennis Circuit Court on Wednesday, Judge Francis Comerford sentenced former secondary school teacher, Tony Greene (35) of Loughville, Lahinch Rd, Ennis to 30 months in prison, suspending the final 14 months on an endangerment charge arising from the road crash on the Liscannor Rd at Lahinch at around 3.45am on October 25th 2021.

Mr Greene pleaded guilty to intentionally or recklessly engaging in conduct where he was driving at speed with no lights on his vehicle on the incorrect side of road, which created a substantial risk of serious harm or death to another.

Describing events in the run-up to the crash, Judge Comerford said that after consuming a large amount of alcohol, Mr Greene got into his white Mercedes with three passengers after attending the Claremont nightclub in Lahinch.

Judge Comerford said that Mr Greene was driving his Mercedes while impaired by the consumption of alcohol on the wrong side of the road towards Liscannor out of Lahinch when he drove into Ms Aisling Rouine’s Kia Ceed car.

Ms Rouine was aged 23 at the time of the crash.

Judge Comerford said that after colliding into the front and right-hand side of Ms Rouine’s car, Mr Greene’s 11 registered Mercedes came to a stop 130 feet away when it crashed into a wall.

Judge Comerford said that it was an aggravating factor in the case and increased the endangerment when Mr Greene and his passengers then left the scene of the crash.

Counsel for the State, Sarah Jane Comerford BL (Instructed by State Solicitor for Clare, Aisling Casey) said that the following morning Mr Greene reported his car stolen to Gardai from the previous night in a further attempt to evade justice and made a full statement to Gardai on October 31st on his stolen car.

Judge Comerford described Mr Greene’s false report as “a complete lie” and imposed a concurrent 14-month prison sentence for the offence of making the false statement to Gardai.

Ms Rouine was not drinking alcohol on the night and was driving back from Liscannor after dropping friends home when the crash occurred.

In her victim impact statement read out by Gardai Michael Haugh, Ms Rouine said that a few things still bother her in relation to what occurred.

She said: “I struggle to call this a road traffic accident - why did Tony Greene decide to turn off his headlights as he drove recklessly down the road that night ,turning his white Mercedes into a weapon on the roadway?”

She said: “When I lay trapped and injured in my car and his car continued and crashed into a wall further down the road, Mr Greene and his passengers did not come back near my car to check if I was alive or dead or to consider calling an ambulance."

She said: “Instead, they only thought selfishly of themselves and took to the fields running from the carnage they had just caused."

“I could have been dead in the car for all of Mr Greene and his friends knew or cared. These actions on the night along with total lack of acceptance or even a simple 'sorry' at any time leave me with little sympathy towards Mr Greene.”

Physical injuries

Ms Rouine - now aged 27 and living in Australia - said that she knows that in the main her physical injuries will heal over time.

She said: “Psychologically, I will never forget the terror I felt as I can still see the Mercedes swerving side to side on the roadway, crossing over to my side of the road, speeding towards me, and then for some reason to turn off the headlights fully.

“As I jammed on my brakes fully bringing my car to a stop, I honestly thought that I was going to die. As I braced for collision, this Mercedes drove straight into me, hitting the front part of my car.

“There was nothing I could do to avoid this collision.

She said: “After the collision, I was in shock but I was conscious, I was scared. I couldn’t get out of the car. I had pain all over my feet, my legs and body."

Ms Rouine said that at the time “I was driving for four years and never been involved in an accident”.

Ms Rouine thanked three Limerick students who did come to her to free her from her car, and Ms Rouine was later brought by ambulance to University Hospital Limeric,k where she was discharged later that day.

Garda Michael Haugh said that the Garda investigation into the crash detected Mr Greene’s DNA on the airbag that was deployed in the driver’s side of the Mercedes.

Garda Haugh also stated that CCTV was harvested of Mr Greene entering the Claremont nightclub at 12.42am and exiting at 02.23am and driving his car away from Lahinch at 3.45am.

As part of his concocted story to Gardai about his car being stolen, Mr Greene claimed that his drink was spiked and woke up at a house near Lahinch with his car-keys missing from his pocket.

Garda Haugh said that when arrested and interviewed on suspicion of endangerment and making a false statement, Mr Greene exercised his right to silence when questioned by Gardai.

Judge Comerford said that he took into account Mr Greene's guilty plea, that he has no previous convictions, and his offending is borne in large part out of his alcoholism which he is taking steps to address.

Counsel for Mr Greene, Patrick Whyms BL (instructed by solicitor, Daragh Hassett) said that Mr Greene made a number of bad decisions on the night.

Mr Whyms read out a letter by Mr Greene where he said that he is ‘truly sorry’ to Ms Rouine for his actions.

Mr Whyms said that Mr Greene has battled with alcohol over the years and now does not drink.

Mr Greene’s mother, Mary, told the court: “Tony is not a monster. He was always a kind person. He would not deliberately go out of his way to hurt anyone. Unfortunately, drink got a grip of him. He is an alcoholic.

“He has finally changed his life. He has turned it around. He has put in the hard work and determination, and I do think he will prove to you in time that he is a genuinely good person who has made mistakes.”

Mr Whyms said that Mr Greene has returned to Ireland from Australia for the case. He said that he moved from Ireland to Australia a few years ago with his girlfriend and the two are now engaged.

Mr Whyms said that there has been a civil case and that case has been resolved, and Ms Rouine has been compensated.