SCHOOL children and their parents had to take “refuge in gardens” as an out of control motorist sped through the streets of the city, Limerick District Court has heard.
Greg Russell with an address at Sarsfield Park, Rosbrien was jailed for a total of 14 months and banned from driving for 10 years after pleading guilty to a litany of road traffic offences including six counts of dangerous driving on October 8 last year.
With 161 previous convictions, the majority of which are for road traffic offences, 21-year-old Russell was recognised by a gardai driving a Renault Laguna at 3pm on the date in question.
Pulling out to oncoming traffic at the Kilmallock Road Roundabout, Russell drove his car anticlockwise around the roundabout forcing an articulated driver to take evasive action in his 40ft rig to avoid collision. The truck ended up on the grass verge the court was told.
For over 200 metres, gardai said that Russell drove the car on the wrong side of the road and at excessive speed given the volume of traffic.
At St Jude’s Avenue, the car driven by Greg Russell was said to have been travelling at over 80km/h and continued in this fashion through narrow streets and around corners.
On several occasions, Gardai feared that Russell was losing control of the vehicle and two females had to jump out of the way and take refuge in nearby gardens as the car sped past.
Greg Russell was also said to have narrowly missed several parked cars outside a primary school on the Dublin Road as other cars in traffic narrowly missed the “out of control” driver.
With 161 previous convictions, the majority of which were connected to road traffic matters, Russell also had convictions for burglaries and theft matters before the district and circuit courts.
Chris Lynch, solicitor for the accused said that his client “readily accepts he was out of control” and that it “was a relief that he was in custody now”.
An addict with drug and drink problems, Russell was said to have been diagnosed with a severe form of ADHD and was on prescribed medication before becoming addicted to zanax tablets and other sedatives.
Currently serving a 24 month sentence that had a release date of April 2012, the court was told that Russell pleaded guilty at the outset and other matters await a book of evidence for the circuit court.
Judge O’Donnell said that he did not want “to sound alarmist,” but that this was “the most outrageous case of dangerous driving”.
He added that the incident was appalling and that the accused man had total disregard for life and limb of the road users or pedestrians”.
Noting his surprise that the DPP saw fit to leave the matter for summary disposal, Judge O’Donnell said that this was one of the most appalling cases he had ever seen before the district court.
Disqualifying Greg Russell from driving for a period of 10 years, Judge O’Donnell imposed a total of 16 months imprisonment for the variety of dangerous driving charges as well as three counts of driving without insurance. All other road traffic matters arising out of the same incident were taken into consideration.
