A DRIVER who, it was claimed, pressured a young student to sign a paper taking responsibility for a car crash has been found guilty of careless driving.
Daniel Coughlan (52), of Kealouge, Oola, County Limerick, pleaded not guilty at Kilmallock District Court to the charge, arising out of a crash at Cluggan Cross in Pallasgreen on March 24, 2023.
Judge Patricia Harney heard that student Cillian O’Brien, of Glenlara, Garryspillane, was the other driver involved in the collision, which resulted in damage to both cars but no injuries to either driver or their passengers.
Mr O’Brien told the court that he was in a filter lane to make a left turn at the cross when Mr Coughlan “cut in front of me”.
Mr O’Brien said that he went partly up on the grass verge to try to avoid the collision.
Mr O’Brien said that Mr Coughlan got out of the car and was “dominating the situation”.
“I called my father on the phone and he spoke to my dad. He convinced me and my dad that I was in the wrong. This was the first time I was involved in an accident and I felt panicked”.
Mr O’Brien said that he suggested calling the Gardaí but Mr Coughlan “said there was no need for that. He insisted I go with him to his house and sign a paper saying I was responsible for the accident.”
The following day, Mr O’Brien took his father to visit the scene and described what happened, the court heard.
“My dad said that I was not in the wrong,” he told the court.
Mr Coughlan gave evidence that he was about to make the left turn on the night when he saw Mr O’Brien’s car behind him and remarked to his son “what is this fellah doing?”
He denied that he had been driving in the middle lane before the crash or that he cut in front of Mr O’Brien. He said that when Mr O’Brien got out of the car, he took responsibility and said he was sorry.
“I asked if everyone was all right … I asked him to come to my house to sign that he was responsible because we didn’t have a biro in the car,” the court heard.
Under cross examination from prosecuting Inspector Gearoid Thompson, Mr Coughlan said he didn’t have time to break or take action before the other car hit him.
His son, Donal (19), who was a front seat passenger in the car on his way home from training with the Limerick senior team, said that his father had indicated and was in the correct lane.
He said Mr O’Brien’s car went “up a small bit” onto the grass.
The court heard that the damage to Mr O’Brien’s car was to the front and cost €1,700 to repair, while there was €5,000 worth of damage done to Mr Coughlan’s car on the passenger door side.
Counsel for Mr Coughlan asked the judge to dismiss the case on the basis that he was hampered in his defence by the fact that two passengers in Mr O’Brien’s car had refused to make statements.
Judge Harney said that in the face of a “complete conflict” of evidence, she was finding Mr Coughlan guilty of the charge, because of the location of the damage on his car, the fact that he did not say in evidence that he had braked, and she noted that the evidence of Mr O’Brien that Mr Coughlan has said not the call the Gardaí was not put to Mr Coughlan.
She convicted him and fined him €250, setting recognisance for an appeal on his own bond of €150.
