The President of the Circuit Court said yesterday he had considered asking the Garda superintendent for the Rathmines, Dublin, area to conduct an inquiry into "curious" elements of a road accident case involving a garda.
Mr Justice Esmond Smyth said when solicitors for another motorist involved, a Crumlin mother of two, sought statements from investigating gardai they had been told no written statements were available.
"That could not be so because it is quite clear a number of statements had been taken by the investigating garda," Mr Justice Smyth said.
Mr Justice Smyth, who awarded Mrs Rita Guinane £16,000 damages against Garda Gary Corrigan, Rockfield Green, Maynooth, Co Kildare, for whiplash injuries, also commented on the manner in which statements had been taken by Det Garda Marilyn Brosnan.
He questioned why she should take statements from Garda Corrigan and his passenger, Garda Eamonn O'Loughlin, "any differently than statements from members of the public." He had been told that Garda Brosnan had taken a caution statement from Mrs Guinane, of Derry Drive, Crumlin, Dublin. Mrs Guinane's statement and that of other civilian witnesses had been dated and witnessed while the statements from Garda Corrigan and Garda O'Loughlin had not.
He told Mr Enrico Dourado, counsel for Mrs Guinane, that he also found it curious why a number of gardai in a van, others in a squad car and a motorcycle garda should all turn up to an ordinary road accident.
Mr Justice Smyth said he had decided not to ask the Garda superintendent to conduct an inquiry into the missing statements. "While there may have been a perfectly innocent explanation for it, perhaps a fault in administration or perhaps a failure to make a full and comprehensive search for them, I cannot allow the matter to pass without adverting to it." Mr Justice Smyth said Mrs Guinane had told the court she had crashed into Garda Corrigan's car when he attempted to do a U-turn on the road in front of her. Garda Corrigan, who was off duty, had said he was attempting a three-point turn in a gateway when Mrs Guinane had driven into him.
"In all the circumstances of this case may I say I haven't the slightest difficulty in preferring Mrs Guinane's version of events," Mr Justice Smyth said.
Mr Justice Smyth said Mrs Guinane had suffered back and neck injuries in the 1997 accident at Mount Drummond Avenue, Dublin, which had cleared up by late 2000. She was entitled to £14,000 damages for her injuries with £2,056 compensation for repairs to her car.