Man (30) drove at speed through a housing estate in Louth

A 30-year-old man drove at speed through his housing estate and parked in his driveway after a garda had signalled at him to stop, Dundalk district court was told last week

Aaron Nordon of Fairways Gardens, Blackrock was charged with drink driving and dangerous driving arising out of the incident on June 14th 2024.

A member of the Roads Policing Unit gave evidence of receiving a report of a possible drunk driver in the Blackrock area shortly before 4pm, and having been unable to locate the vehicle during an initial patrol, he saw the car, a VW Golf, in the Supervalu car park which he said leads into Fairways Gardens.

He said he activated the blue lights on his patrol car and put his hand out the window to signal to the driver to stop, but said the defendant drove away at speed and into the driveway of his home.

The driver was subsequently arrested on suspicion of drink driving and dangerous driving.

The court heard the defendant had no previous convictions and was compliant following his arrest.

The defence solicitor said his client had a difficulty with alcohol at the time but went into treatment and has been sober for more than a year.

When Judge Derek Cooney asked for details about the dangerous driving allegation, the garda explained that he had pulled the patrol car out at a 45 degree angle and the defendant went onto the wrong side of the road and drove at an excessive speed and there were pedestrians on the footpath in the housing estate at the time.

Judge Cooney imposed a €750 fine for the drink driving offence and a two year disqualification and a further fine of €250 for the dangerous driving charge.