A YOUTH who crashed his car into the wall of a house and ran away had to confront the homeowner in court and apologise.
The young man, who was given the Probation Act when he appeared before Judge Carol Anne Coolican in Newcastle West District Court last week, admitted he was the driver of a car that smashed into a house on Bishop Street on August 21, 2022.
Inspector Gearoid Thompson gave evidence to the court that Gardaí were called to the scene and “the occupants of the car were seen running away after the collision.”
“Gardaí established who owned the car and called to the accused’s house, where they found him in a highly intoxicated state,” he said.
“He told the Gardaí at that point that he owned the car and would come to the station to report it stolen the next day.”
Inspector Thompson said that the young man made a voluntary statement the next day admitting that he was the one driving the car.
His solicitor, Michael O’Donnell, told the court his client had €300 in court to cover the €270 in damage his car had done to the house.
“He panicked. He is a learner driver and didn’t have a qualified driver with him.” Mr O’Donnell said, adding that the car involved was so badly damaged it had to be written off.
The owner of the house was in court and Judge Coolican asked if he wanted to say anything, to which he replied: “I would have liked if he had come to me and apologised for what he did.”
At that point, the young man turned to the homeowner, saying “I’m very sorry. I was thinking of no one but myself”, at which point the homeowner and the accused shook hands.
Judge Coolican said she was satisfied that the young man was “genuinely remorseful”, and, hearing that he had no previous convictions, applied the Probation Act.
