A teenage boy has pleaded guilty to leading gardaí on a dangerous Dublin to Laois traffic pursuit where he reached speeds of over 200km/h and drove on the wrong side of dual carriageways.
The 17-year-old, who cannot be identified because he is a minor, is facing charges of endangerment of life, using a stolen car and 13 counts of dangerous driving on the evening of April 21st last when he drove “back and forth” across all four lanes of the M50.
The accused had faced a preliminary hearing at the Dublin Children’s Court to determine his trial venue.
Judge Paul Kelly held that the case was too serious for the Children’s Court to accept jurisdiction and agreed with the Director of Public Prosecutions that it must proceed to the Circuit Court, which has broader sentencing powers.
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He remarked: “It’s an absolute miracle no one was killed or seriously harmed”.
On Tuesday the youth signed a guilty plea to the motor theft and endangerment charges. Judge Kelly granted an order sending him forward to the higher court for sentencing. The youth was remanded on bail pending his next hearing on November 28th.
Earlier, Garda Aaron Webb outlined the evidence and played video footage, mainly filmed by squad car dashcams.
He stated that the 2012-registered Toyota Corolla was stolen within the previous 24 hours in Kilkenny and was detected in Dublin at around 7pm on Easter Monday at the Chapelizod bypass.
Footage showed it speeding at 127km/h as it approached and passed the Criminal Courts of Justice on the wrong side of the road, and proceeded to Parkgate Street.
He turned on to the Luas tracks near the quays and drove past the Heuston Station stop platform and on to St John’s Road West, where it hit 137km/h in a 50km/h zone. It accelerated to 160km/h on the N4 and then drove on to the M50, forcing another car on to the hard shoulder.
Between Junctions 7 and 9, the teenager went back and forth across all four lanes of the motorway.
He also avoided attempts to box him in during the drive.
The court heard that he was travelling at 156km/h, exceeding the 50km/h limit, as he steered on to the N7 at Citywest and almost collided with two other cars.
Garda Webb said the boy, who had two teenage passengers, drove across four lanes and then collided with a van with a “side swipe” while doing 160km/h at Rathcoole. The van driver suffered whiplash and needed to go to hospital.
The boy continued driving the badly damaged Corolla and reached 203km/h when the car had a blowout. However, he kept driving, even with one tyre “disintegrated”, and was clocked at 177km/h.
The court heard that when he passed Kildare Village, he moved over on to the wrong side of the N7 and continued driving that way for 12 minutes, covering 21 kilometres, against the flow of traffic.
Garda units were “shadowing” him on the correct lanes. Near Junction 15 in Co Laois, gardaí deployed a stinger device to deflate the stolen car’s tyres. It continued driving at speed, with video footage capturing sparks coming from the vehicle, which then came to a halt.
A Garda armed support unit also joined the pursuit.
The teenager had no prior convictions and said in court that he was pepper-sprayed after the car stopped and there was a “stand-off” with gardaí.
His solicitor Brian Keenan had said the teenager, who was accompanied to court by family, had suffered trauma in his childhood, had been affected by a bereavement at a young age and had attended mental health services.
Mr Keenan said the boy realised he could have lost his own life during the pursuit and he was apologetic.
The court also heard that following his arrest, he made admissions and said he was sorry for putting people’s lives at risk.
The remaining charges are to be added to the indictment later. Legal aid was granted.
