Man in court over chase on wrong side of M50

A man from Dublin has been refused bail after a court heard he drove on the wrong side of the road with headlights turned off and tried to swerve at gardaí in an overnight traffic pursuit.

Dylan Maughan (20) of St Killian’s Park, Clondalkin, was arrested and charged with dangerous driving in the west of Dublin in the early hours of Saturday, which he denies.

He was arrested running from the car wearing one runner, while the other was found beside the driver’s seat of the abandoned vehicle, it has been alleged.

He faced objections to bail when he appeared before Judge Cephas Power at Dublin District Court on Saturday.

Garda Andrew Flood said Mr Maughan made no reply to the charge at the time.

He said the accused was the driver of a 06-registration Volkswagen Jetta, which had been spotted at just after 3.30am by gardaí at Fonthill Road in Clondalkin where it failed to stop for gardaí.

He alleged Mr Maughan drove on the wrong side of an N4 slip road and that he again failed to stop at the Ninth Lock Road in Clondalkin.

The court heard the Jetta was abandoned after it had been driven on the wrong side of the Naas Road and also on the M50 in an effort to evade gardaí.

A similar incident recently led to fatalities, the garda told the court.

Swerve

He added that the driver of the Jetta “attempted to swerve into gardaí” and the public were put in danger.

Garda Flood said that on arrest, Mr Maughan was “wearing one runner and the other was recovered from the footwell of the Jetta”.

The garda agreed with defence solicitor Gareth Noble that the accused’s parents had concerns in relation to his mental health.

He also accepted that Mr Maughan had lived at his family home for 20 years and did not have the means to leave the jurisdiction. He agreed there was no concern of possible witness interference.

The solicitor said his client contended he was not the driver and that there had been a group travelling in the car.

Mr Maughan’s mother told the court her son had gone to the hospital on Friday night when he was seen by a nurse and advised to wait. However, he left after he received a phone call, she said.

She pleaded for her son to have a chance to receive bail.

The woman said she has been assisting him with his health problems and she would ensure he would abide by bail conditions including a curfew. She told Judge Power that she would report her son to gardaí if he broke the terms.

However, Judge Power held that the objection to bail was well founded.

Mr Maughan, who is unemployed, was granted legal aid and remanded in custody to appear at Cloverhill District Court next week.