Courts / Westmeath / Report

Westmeath man who led gardai on high speed chase from Dublin to Wicklow is jailed

Date
2014-11-05

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Mullingar

Summary

Eoin Maughan, 37, a Westmeath member of the Travelling Community, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to endangerment, dangerous driving and criminal damage after a high‑speed chase that began in Dublin and ended in Wicklow. The chase started when Maughan's grey Renault Laguna failed to stop at a roundabout in Tallaght, then drove the wrong way around a roundabout, overtook cars on a blind bend and on the wrong side of the road, and entered Brittas village where he attempted to ram a garda patrol car. He drove through the village, was pursued by a garda helicopter, and tried to escape by crashing through a stone wall near the waterworks at Bohernabreena. The pursuit ended when gardai arrested him. During questioning he became aggressive, was pepper‑sprayed, broke an interview table, and punched a garda. The court found the damage to garda vehicles cost €10,874, and that gardai suffered whiplash, facial injuries and one required surgery.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Westmeath man who led gardai on high speed chase from Dublin to Wicklow is jailed. Charges or matters: endangerment, dangerous driving and criminal damage of a garda patrol car at Brittas village on November 21, 2013. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

November 21, 2013 Incident
May 15, 2009 Incident
November 2013 Incident
February 19, 2014 Incident
2014-11-05 Publication

Why: Maughan then drove towards the waterworks at Bohernabreena where gardai had set up a cordon on either side of the bridge in order to trap the car. CNI source report