A MAN who came to garda attention after he drove through a red light at roadworks was followed and subsequently prosecuted for drink driving.
Michael Andrew – Andy – O’Sullivan (33) of 19 Mountain View, Glengarriff, was legally represented at Bantry District Court by Flor Murphy, solicitor.
The solicitor said his client was pleading guilty to the charge of drink driving at 12.10am on February 28th 2023; and a charge of driving without insurance.
Court presenter, Sgt Trish O’Sullivan, said Gda David Harmon saw the accused drive through a red light at Reenmeen in Glengarriff and he decided to speak to him.
However, when he got to the car and asked him for his driving licence and insurance details he noticed there was a strong smell of alcohol. Sgt O’Sullivan said the accused’s speech was slurred and, following his arrest, a sample was taken at Bantry Garda Station.
The sergeant said the accused has 13 previous convictions, the majority of which were for road traffic offences, but three of the previous were for no insurance.
‘When he was young he was wild and out of control,’ said Mr Murphy, who pointed out that he has not committed any other offence since 2011.
In mitigation, the solicitor said his client was in a very bad road traffic collision and sustained life-threatening injuries. He said the accident meant he had to spend six months at the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dún Laoghaire, where he learned to walk again.
‘He recovered from that and got his life back together. On this night, he had been in Glengarriff and had some drink with his food.
‘It was near his home that he came across the roadworks and felt he had time to turn off,’ said the solicitor.
Mr Murphy confirmed that his client had missed an opportunity to pay a fixed charge notice because ‘his paperwork skills would be disastrous’.
In relation to the no insurance, the solicitor said his client had taken out a policy and was paying it in instalments. Mr Murphy said his client was not aware of the fact that he had missed one payment and was no longer insured.
‘He is looking for as much leniency as you can give him,’ said Mr Murphy. Judge James McNulty fined the accused €400 on the drink driving charge and disqualified him from driving for a year – the commencement of which was postponed to August 7th next.
The accused was also fined €800 for driving without insurance.
On that charge, Judge McNulty said he had to impose a mandatory two-year disqualification. That disqualification was also postponed and recognisances were fixed in the event of an appeal.
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