A WOMAN who crashed her van into another motorist was more than three times over the legal drink driving limit at the time of the accident, the District Court has heard.
BY DAVID FORSYTHE
Court presenter Sergeant Trish O’Sullivan told Macroom District Court that gardaí were called to attend a road accident at Sleveen West, Macroom, at 10.45pm on January 21st, 2024.
When they arrived at the scene, a white Volkswagen Passat and a white Citroen Berlingo van were both parked and were extensively damaged.
The driver of the Passat told gardaí that the Berlingo van had come towards him at high speed and crossed the centre line of the road.
He had pulled to the side as far as he could to try to avoid a collision but the van hit his car. The driver of the van, identified as Mary Rita Maverley, 66, of New Street, Macroom, was still sitting in the van when gardaí arrived and the keys had been removed from the ignition by another person.
Sgt O’Sullivan told the court that Ms Maverley appeared to be intoxicated and was aggressive and argumentative.
The court heard she tried to push away the garda at the scene who arrested her. Ms Maverley was taken to Macroom Garda Station where a blood alcohol test recorded a level of 182mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, where the legal limit is 50mg.
Defence solicitor Jack Purcell asked Judge Monika Leech to consider reducing the charge of dangerous driving to the lesser charge of careless driving.
He said that his client was a healthcare assistant who had suffered an injury through her work and was suffering chronic back pain as a result. He said the ‘pain had got on top of her’ and the incident was ‘entirely out of character’.
Ms Maverely had no previous convictions and on the night in question she had drunk Bacardi and Coke at home before driving and she had no idea why she was driving or where she was going.
He said it was ‘one freak event’ and his client had decided to give up driving, regardless of the outcome of the prosecution.
Judge Leech said that Ms Maverley’s explanation as to why she was driving ‘defies logic’.
She added that she could not reduce the dangerous driving charge due to the seriousness of the offence and the ‘very high’ alcohol reading.
For drink driving Mary Maverley was disqualified from driving for four years and fined €350. For dangerous driving she was disqualified from driving for two years and fined €250.
