A woman who claims she was injured when a Garda car crashed as it brought her to Mountjoy Prison for non-payment of a parking fine has brought a High Court action for damages arising from alleged "bizarre circumstances".
Geraldine Coleman claims she woke up at 6am that day to find six gardaí in her house, including two in her bedroom. Mr Justice Paul Butler remarked that the mother of five was "not an international terrorist".
Ms Coleman, (45), Beechmount Grove, Navan, Co Meath, is suing the Minister for Finance and Andrew Hyland, from Trim, Co Meath, the driver of a vehicle which was involved in the collision with the patrol car.
The accident occurred on the Dunshaughlin Road at the junction for Trim in heavy traffic on the morning of September 20th, 2002, and extensive damage was caused to the cars involved.
Opening the case, Mr Colm Smyth SC, for Ms Coleman, said it arose from bizarre circumstances. Ms Coleman was asleep in her bed at 6am and had woken up to find gardaí in her bedroom saying they had a warrant for her arrest for non-payment of a parking fine imposed by the District Court. Ms Coleman, the court had said, would have to serve seven days in prison if she defaulted on the payment.
After the patrol car left Dunshaughlin on the way to Mountjoy, there was a build-up of traffic and the gardaí became impatient with the delays and had turned on the flashing blue lights and pulled out on the road, counsel said. The collision occurred at a junction turn- off for Trim.
In evidence, Garda Nicola Sheeran, the driver of the patrol car, said she had the blue lights flashing, her hazard lights on and her headlights. She denied she was on the wrong side of the road and said the patrol car was straddling the white line after the line of traffic had moved over for her.
Garda Sheeran said she was genuinely concerned for her own safety as Ms Coleman had never relented on verbal abuse during the journey.
In her evidence, Ms Coleman said she woke up on September 20th to see two male gardaí in her bedroom. Ms Coleman said she could hear a rumpus downstairs and when she went down there were four more gardaí there. Her hands were put behind her back and she was taken to the patrol car.
Outside Dunshaughlin, the Garda car had swung out to the wrong side of the road, put its blue lights on and speeded up, she said. The next thing she saw was a car coming from the side and she felt an impact. She was thrown to the left and back hitting her head on the window frame. She said she was in pain in her neck and shoulder area and her wrists were sore.
She was then transferred to another patrol car and taken to Mountjoy. "I was very upset and frightened at that stage. I said I had been in a car crash and was told they hear that all the time," she said. The prison doctor had examined her and referred her to the Mater hospital where she was X-rayed and treated.
For four months afterwards, Ms Coleman said she was in extreme pain and suffered flashbacks and nightmares. When she saw a patrol car, she would get a panic attack.
Cross-examined by Michael Counihan SC, for the Minister for Finance, Ms Coleman agreed she may have shouted at gardaí but said she was very disorientated and frightened. She agreed she had pleaded guilty at Navan District Court to obstructing a garda in the course of his duty and said she had done so on the instructions of her solicitor.
The hearing continues today.