A man who was charged with hitting a parked car and leaving the scene was given the benefit of the Probation Act at Ballina District Court. Before the court, arising out of the incident which occurred on December 16 last, was Eamon Padden, Meelick, Killala. He pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Garda Martin McNicholas told Judge Mary Devins that on the night in question he responded to a call and arrived in Killala at 9.30pm. A car, which was owned by the injured party, was parked outside her home and there was damage to the left wing of the vehicle. Their enquiries led them to talk to the defendant who was in a local public house.
“We examined his own car which was parked close by and on examination we noticed scrapes on the driver’s side and that an indicator light was missing. The defendant denied that there was any damage to his car and denied hitting any other vehicle,” he said.
Witness said that the car was subsequently examined and an indicator light that fitted into the damaged vehicle was located. He said the cost of the damage to the car that was hit was €185 and that money had been paid by the defendant to the injured party.
In reply to a question from the defending solicitor, Garda McNicholas said the defendant was under the limit when tested for drunken driving.
Eamon Padden told Judge Devins that on the night in question he drove into Killala and did what he always did which was drive around the block before parking faced in the direction of his home. He said that on that occasion he got a skid. “It was either a patch of oil or some stones but I skidded anyway and it landed me on the far side of the road. I was in a difficult position at the time trying to negotiate the car in front of me to get out onto the street and I obviously brushed the side of the other car,” he said. The defendant denied that there was any damage caused to his own car and he said that if he “hit anything, it was strange that there was no corresponding dint on his own car”. He said that if he had hit the other vehicle he would have stopped and not continued to park his car in its usual location.
In reply to Superintendent Frank Walshe, the defendant said he was advised by his solicitor to pay for the damage. He said he didn’t say anything about the skid on the night because he was being asked so many questions.
Judge Devins said the injured party was recompensed and she felt the case was best dealt with by applying Section 11A of the Probation Act.
