Man arrested after speeding erratically around Athy
pic for illustrative purposes
A DRIVER of a speeding car that drove erratically through Athy last Friday has been brought before a court.
“Gardaí on patrol in Athy were alerted to a vehicle that had previously been reported as stolen, driving on Duke Street at approximately 9.15am on Friday 23 May,” said a garda spokesperson.
“The driver failed to stop for gardaí when directed to do so, and a managed containment operation was put in place.
“During the course of the operation, the offending vehicle collided with a separate, third-party vehicle. No injuries were reported.
“The vehicle was brought to a halt in the Rosbrien area and the driver, a male in his 20s, was subsequently arrested and detained at Garda station in the Eastern Region under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984.
“He was charged and appeared before Naas District Court on Saturday morning 24 May.
“As this matter is now before the courts, An Garda Síochána is not in a position to comment further at this time”.
The suspect has since been admitted to Naas General Hospital due to an unspecified condition, but it is believed he will be re-arrested on his discharge, and brought before the next available court date in Kildare – either in Naas or Athy.
“He was out of control! It was like something out of the Wild West,” said cllr Aoife Breslin of the joyriding around Athy on Friday morning (23 May).
“There was an incident Friday morning,” she confirmed.
“He was driving erratically around the Canal Banks, and a woman I know who was walking her dog at the time had to get out of the way very quickly.
“He then drove up Main Street erratically, and I believe he crashed going around a corner going around Woodstock Street.
“He was arrested then, and I believe he is still in custody.
“I believe he broke into a house earlier in the week and stole the car from there."
Despite some social media reports about injuries, cllr Brian Dooley said: “Normally, if anyone got hurt you’d hear about it down town fairly quickly”.
