A 29-year-old man was fined for careless driving at a recent sitting of Roscommon District Court.
Enda Connelly, Turla, Ballymoe, County Galway, appeared before Judge James Faughnan at the court, after his case had initially been put back for 12 months for monitoring. He was initially charged with dangerous driving.
Last year, the judge heard evidence from Garda Sgt Michelle Hallinan that the offence happened at 10.25 p.m. in the Creggs area on February 18th, 2024.
When gardaí went to speak to him, the accused took off at speed, narrowly avoiding hitting the patrol car, the court heard. He was observed driving with excessive speed through the village of Creggs. He fled the scene and was subsequently found by gardaí, the court was told.
At the time, Mr Connelly’s solicitor Con Harlow said he had testimonials in court for the judge and that his client had completed a Drive Aware course.
When it appeared again, Mr Harlow said that his client needed his licence for work in the UK and on the family farm. The judge agreed to accept a guilty plea to the reduced charge of careless driving, and imposed a fine of €1,000.
