Car rammed on New Year's Eve at Derryharrow, Longford

Leonard McCoppin (35), Clonterm, Longford appeared before Judge Seamus Hughes charged with failing to state whether or not he was in a vehicle that damaged a car belonging to another person at Esker, Ballinalee, Co Longford on December 31, 2016.
Outlining the evidence to the court, Inspector Bláithín Moran said the case centred around a car in which the defendant was a passenger in, ramming another vehicle seven or eight times in the Esker area of Ballinalee on New Year’s Eve.
The incident, the court was told, resulted in the second vehicle crashing into a tree and injuring a passenger in the car.
The driver of the vehicle - Ronan Norton (34), Derryharrow, Longford has been sent forward for trial to the next sitting of Longford Circuit Court charged with damaging a vehicle belonging to another person and ramming the vehicle seven or eight times, causing it to lose control and crash head on into a tree on the same date.
Meanwhile, Inspector Moran said that Mr McCoppin had been a passenger in the car that Mr Norton had been driving that night.
“The car hit the other vehicle - which had two passengers in it - seven or eight times, and one of the passengers suffered injuries to her leg,” she confirmed.
Deliberating, Judge Hughes asked why anyone would ram a car seven or eight times on a New year’s Eve night.
He also said that matter before him was “most serious” and he would need time to consider jurisdiction in the case.
The defendant will appear back before Longford District Court on December 15 next.