A DONEGAL man arrested after a number of near-crashes during a 100km/h chase told gardaí he was on his way to have his car scrapped.
Raymond Hepburn (40), Drumbeg, Raphoe, was already banned from driving for 10 years when he encountered a Garda checkpoint on October 12th, 2011.
He fled the scene and led gardaí on a high-speed pursuit through several villages before abandoning his red Seat in the middle of a road.
Along the way several cars had to drive into ditches to avoid Hepburn. Letterkenny District Court was told a truck had to take evasive action to prevent being hit by Hepburn’s car.
He was charged with seven counts of dangerous driving and driving without a licence.
The court was told he had 20 previous convictions for various offences including drink-driving and forging a driving licence.
Solicitor Frank Dorrian said his client was taking the car to the scrapyard as it was worth just €200.
Mr Dorrian accepted it was probably the end of Hepburn’s driving career for the moment.
Judge Paul Kelly ordered a probation and community service report on the father of two and adjourned sentencing until October 15th.