Courts / Dublin / Report
Driver who was disqualified for 15 years led gardai on high speed chase
Summary
Ronald Lawlor, 36, who had been disqualified from driving for 15 years, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, with the final 12 months suspended, for leading Gardaí on a high‑speed chase. He had 164 prior convictions, mainly for road traffic offences, and was found guilty of endangerment, dangerous driving, damage to a Garda patrol car and refusing a breath test. During the chase, he drove at speeds up to 140 km/h, drove the wrong way around a roundabout, collided with a Garda car causing about €3,000 in damage, and threw a beer can out the window. He was arrested after refusing an alcohol test. The judge imposed a ten‑year driving ban and ordered him to work with the Probation Service on alcohol misuse and, if suitable, a road safety programme. Lawlor claimed he had stopped drinking four months earlier and suffers from depression.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Driver who was disqualified for 15 years led gardai on high speed chase. Charges or matters: endangerment on Moyne Road, dangerous driving on Grange Road, Baldoyle, damage to a garda patrol car and failing to provide a breath sample at Ballymun Garda Station on December 10, 2016. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- December 10, 2016 Other
- 2018-10-25 Publication
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: endangerment on Moyne Road, dangerous driving on Grange Road, Baldoyle, damage to a garda patrol car and failing to provide a breath sample at Ballymun Garda Station on December 10, 2016 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Officers who knew Lawlor and were aware that he was disqualified from driving warned him not to drive but Lawlor took off at speed. Today Judge Melanie Greally imposed a three and a half year sentence with the final 12 months suspended.
Places mentioned
- Dublin
- Main Street
- Dublin
- Dublin Circuit Criminal Court
- Moyne Road
- Grange Road
- Dublin
- breath sample at Ballymun Garda Station
- Ballymun
Topics
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