A father of two has been jailed for two years and disqualified from driving for 10 after he endangered the lives of two gardai and damaged their patrol car by driving his vehicle at them.
Andrew Cash of Harper’s Lane, Portlaoise, Co Laois appared before Cork Circuit Criminal Court where Judge Sean O’Donnabhain was told that he also crashed into a parked car in which a driver was sitting.
Mr Cash pleaded guilty to two charges surrounding the incident which occurred in May 2018 at Carhoo on the Old Mallow Road in Cork. The most serious of the charges was endangerment. He also pleaded guilty to criminal damage.
Inspector Niall O’Connell said that Cash drove his black car in the direction of a marked patrol car in which two gardai were sitting at 3.30pm on May 11th, 2018. He deliberately crashed in to the garda car.
The incident occurred as Mr Cash was approaching a garda checkpoint.
A garda car had driven up on the outside of Mr Cash’s black Saab car and directed him to pull in to the left. He complied but then suddenly he reversed at speed hitting a parked car containing a driver. He then rammed the garda car at the checkpoint.
Judge Sean O’Donnabhain was told that Cash then travelled at high speed through Whitechurch before striking a young man on the hand with the wing mirror of his car in Carrignavar.
He then swerved on to the wrong side of the road into incoming traffic in a bid to avoid a garda car which had been put on the road in an effort to stop him.
Cash managed to avoid arrest. He then fled the jurisdiction and went to the UK to avoid facing charges in the case. He returned to Ireland and was arrested in 2020.
Inspector O’Connell said that gardai who witnessed the incident described it as some of the worst driving they had ever seen.
Defence barister Paula McCarthy said her client came from a difficult family background. She said he had a sad family history of dysfunction and loss.
Ms McCarthy said her client, who has 37 previous convictions, had made progress with his addictions in recent years.
Judge O’Donnabhain said there “was a lack of remorse” in the case which involved outrageous driving. He jailed Cash for three years suspending the last year of the sentence.