Fisherman who crashed stolen litter truck at level crossing is jailed

A fisherman stole a Dublin City Council litter van and took it on a high speed ride through the city, culminating in him crashing it through a train level crossing, a court has heard.

A woman who was out running was struck by debris when Jamie Reid crashed through the level crossing barrier at Sutton on May 30, 2024, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard on Tuesday February 11.

No-one was seriously injured in the incident, which lasted around 25 minutes, the court heard.

Reid (33) later told gardaí he was a “cokehead” and had no memory of taking the vehicle which was idling on Parliament Street when he jumped in and drove off, briefly dragging a council worker who tried to stop him.

Reid, of Newbrook Avenue, Donaghmede, Dublin, pleaded guilty to one count of endangerment, three counts of dangerous driving, one count of driving without insurance and one count of driving without a licence in various locations in Dublin on May 30, 2024.

He has 39 previous convictions.

Judge Martin Nolan jailed Reid for three years and nine months, noting he had endangered “quite a few people” including gardaí, pedestrians and other road users.

He disqualified him from driving for five years.

During the incident, Reid drove erratically down the wrong side of roads and along the quays, where he was pursued by gardaí. When he got caught in rush hour traffic and gardaí caught up with him, the vehicle collided with one garda and drove over another's foot.

Neither garda was seriously injured as the collision was a “glancing blow” and the other garda was wearing steel-capped boots, Garda David Biggins told Simon Matthews BL, prosecuting.

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Reid continued to drive at speed through the north inner city, breaking red lights and driving the wrong way down roads, the court heard.

The pursuit eventually ended when he crashed through the train level crossing at Station Road in Sutton, sending both barriers flying.

In CCTV footage played in court, the litter van was seen crashing through the barriers at speed, which in turn struck a woman who had been out running and was waiting for the barriers to rise.

It was unclear how far away the train was when Reid crashed through it, Garda Biggins said.

The woman could be seen limping away in the CCTV footage. She suffered leg injuries and a victim impact statement was handed into court, but not read aloud.

Reid also suffered leg injuries in the crash. He later told gardaí he had no memory of the events.

Ian Woodland BL, defending, said Reid had an unstable childhood, some of which was spent in care.

He has a long history of drug addictions.

The court heard Reid worked for a period of time as a fisherman and spent periods of time on trawlers at sea.

He has been in custody since July 2024, and Judge Nolan backdated the sentence to that date.