Courts / Dublin / Report

Serial road offender jailed for crashing into gardai during chase

Summary

Lee O'Brien, 32, of Cooley Road, Drimnagh, was sentenced to three‑and‑a‑half years in prison for a high‑speed chase that ended with him crashing into a garda car and a taxi. He pleaded guilty to three counts of endangerment, one count of dangerous driving and one count of driving without insurance. The pursuit began when a garda patrol noticed a red Nissan Micra that sped away, leading to a series of collisions. O'Brien's vehicle collided with a patrol car, then a taxi, causing the taxi to spin and hit a pole. All occupants suffered minor injuries. The judge, Melanie Greally, described the incident as an "extremely serious episode of highly dangerous driving", noted O'Brien's 122 prior convictions, and imposed a ten‑year driving ban upon release. The sentence was back‑dated to May of the previous year. O'Brien admitted the charges, expressed remorse, and was found intoxicated during the incident.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Serial road offender jailed for crashing into gardai during chase. Charges or matters: three counts of endangerment, one count of dangerous driving and one count of driving without insurance on January 9, 2018 in Dublin City Centre. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

• January 9, 2018 Incident
• 2019-02-27 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Road Traffic Stage Sentence

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Read the original CNI report