Longford District Court: Crashed car on way to collect food from takeaway

A defendant who failed to show for his District Court hearing for a drink driving charge was fined and banned from the road.

Remus Stoica (46) of Suite F, Newcastle House, Ballymahon, Longford was prosecuted for driving while intoxicated on 17 July, 2021 at Creevaghbeg, Ballymahon, Longford.

Prosecuting Inspector, Paddy McGirl, introduced the first state witness, Joe Hannafin. In the witness box Mr Hannafin said that shortly before 10pm on the date of the offence he heard a noise from outside his home. The witness saw a car hit the curb, go on down the road before crashing into a wall.
The witness went outside and saw the car approximately 20 yards down the road and a man getting out of the driver's side door.

Mr Hannafin said: “I said to him 'you were driving' and he said he was. I told him I was ringing the guards and asked if he wanted me to call an ambulance, but he said 'no'. I called 999 and waited until the Gardai arrived. While we were waiting I asked him if he wanted water or a cup of tea, he said he would have a tea, so I made him a cup.

“He said he was sorry for crashing the car. He told me he ordered food from a takeaway in Ballymahon and was going in to collect it. He said he was going too fast, hit the curb and crashed,” the witness said.

Responding to a query from Inspector McGirl the witness stated he saw the man get out of the driver's door and there was no one else in the vehicle.
The second State witness was Garda Vincent O'Leary. Garda O'Leary was on duty at 10:20pm when he received a call from Garda Control about a single vehicle traffic accident at Creevaghbeg, Ballymahon.
When he got there he saw the silver '04 Audi A5 crashed into a wall. He spoke to local resident Joe Hannafin. The officer confirmed that Mr Hannafin said he heard the crash and observed the driver getting out of the car.

Garda O'Leary spoke to the driver, Mr Stoica, saying he could smell alcohol from his breath. The defendant gave his name and provided a full Irish licence. A roadside breath test was administered and returned a fail reading.

The defendant was cautioned and arrested. He was brought to Longford Garda Station and an intoxilyzer test gave a reading of 46/100. The Garda witness agreed with counsel for the defendant, Andrea Callen, that Mr Stoica was “compliant and co-operative at all times”. The officer said the defendant had very good English.

Ms Callen told the court that in the absence of her client she had no instructions on how to progress his case.

Concluding the case Judge Owens noted the “comprehensive nature” of the prosecution evidence and registered a conviction.
The judge imposed a fine of €500 with three months to pay and a two year disqualification.