A speeding teenager in a stolen car pulled a handbrake turn on the M50, drove at a Garda vehicle and the wrong way up busy slip roads while trying to dodge arrest, a court has heard.
The 17-year-old Dublin boy, who has the legal right to anonymity, avoided being remanded in custody pending sentencing because the State’s main juvenile detention centre had no available space for him.
He pleaded guilty at the Dublin Children’s Court to driving a stolen car, two counts of endangerment of life and five charges of dangerous driving stemming from the dramatic incident on March 21st last year.
In evidence, Garda Daniel Sweeney said he had been on duty in a patrol car in the Blanchardstown area at 3.10pm when the boy “drove straight at me”.
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Garda Sweeney recognised the boy behind the wheel of a Toyota Aqua that had been stolen the previous night.
The court heard the officer was forced to take evasive action to avoid a collision.
Over the next 10 minutes, the boy, then aged 16, performed a handbrake turn at Dunsink Lane then headed to the N3 and the wrong way up a slip road, prompting other motorists to take evasive action.
The youth later drove against traffic for 500m on the N3 before another handbrake turn led him to the M50.
The court heard he sped northbound with the flow of traffic on the motorway, overtaking other cars on the hard shoulder.
After passing the Junction Six exit he performed another handbrake turn and drove the wrong way up the slip road against oncoming traffic attempting to merge with the M50.
Garda Sweeney recalled how other drivers had to brake suddenly and pull into the hard shoulder.
The 15km pursuit ended after the teenager reached the Ballymun exit and abandoned the car. Other motorists shouted where the boy was running, which helped lead the garda to arrest him.
After gardaí established the boy repeatedly broke bail terms, including a curfew, Judge Paul Kelly determined that the bail should be revoked.
However, the judge had to allow the boy, who was accompanied to the hearing by his father, go because there was no room to hold him at the Oberstown Children Detention Campus. His bail terms are still in place.
The boy is scheduled to appear in court in February, and the judge referred him to the Probation Service to prepare a pre-sentence report.
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