Woman jailed for driving at garda and carrying him a distance on bonnet of car
A 42-year-old woman who drove at a garda and carried him more than 200m on the bonnet of her car has been jailed for two years, after a judge heard that the injured party wakes up in pain every morning.
Áine O'Connor of Riverview Estate, Tower, Co Cork, pleaded guilty at Cork Circuit Criminal Court to the charge that she endangered Garda Karol Mellamphy at Cloghroe, Blarney, Co Cork on October 26th, 2023, contrary to section 13 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997.
O'Connor intentionally or recklessly drove a car at Garda Mellamphy, knocked him on to the bonnet of the car and continued to drive for a distance carrying him on the bonnet before stopping, which created a substantial risk of death or serious harm to him.
Garda Eric Stafford told the court that Garda Mellamphy was off duty but wearing some items of his uniform and driving through Tower village at around 7.30am on the morning in question when he was clipped by a red Renault Megane. The car didn't stop, so he pursued the car towards Cloghroe.
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Garda Mellamphy caught up with the Megane and 'exited his vehicle and approached the Renault Megane where there were two males and a female. He identified himself as a garda and the two males, who did not believe him, assaulted him,' said Garda Stafford.
'Áine O'Connor got into the driver's seat and tried to flee. Garda Mellamphy stood in front of the car and directed her not to drive the car. She drove straight at him, knocked him on to the bonnet of the car and she drove towards Cloghroe village with the guard on the bonnet before stopping.'
At that point, the two men fled the vehicle, but O'Connor stayed in the car as Garda Mellamphy phoned for assistance. O'Connor was arrested at the scene.
Pleading for leniency, defence counsel Marjorie Farrelly SC said that her client was intoxicated at the time and was deeply remorseful for her actions on the night. She had written a letter of apology to Garda Mellamphy and she had since engaged with the probation services.
Judge Dermot Sheehan said it was a very serious matter and reading Garda Mellamphy's victim-impact statement, it was clear that the experience of being carried on the bonnet, hanging on for his life, had had a significant and continuing impact on him physically and psychologically.
As the garda was being carried on the bonnet, he 'wondered how it would end and whether he would survive. Every day he lives in pain – he wakes in pain, walks in pain and goes to bed in pain'.
He accepted that it was a split-second decision to drive at Garda Mellamphy and that she had not headed out that morning intending to injure the officer, but she did know that he was a garda as he had identified himself to her, so that was an aggravating factor.
He said he believed that the offence merited a headline sentence of three years but taking into account the fact that O'Connor had entered a signed plea of guilty and spared Garda Mellamphy having to testify in a trial, he said he would suspend 12 months, leaving her with two years to serve.
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