A woman who claimed the reason she pulled a u-turn to avoid a checkpoint was because she thought it was for the Bonavalley attacker, was banned from driving for four years in the District Court this week (February 1 ) after she was subsequently found to be over the limit.
Garda Yvonne Frayne told the court how she had been on checkpoint duty at the Bonavalley bridge at 1.50am on September 10, 2008 when she observed a blue Fiat Punto doing a u-turn “three or four vehicles back” in the line of traffic.
The gardai followed the vehicle back in towards Athlone at speed to the Golden Island/Castlemaine Street roundabout where the car “almost lost control”
The driver gave her name as Debbie Merrigan (32 ), of Woodlands Grove, Athlone, and she was accompanied by two males. Neither of her passengers made it to court as one was overseas in Chad and the other was recently bereaved in Northern Ireland.
Garda Frayne said Merrigan was known to her, and though there wasn’t a noticeable smell of alcohol, “her pupils were very small and I suspected she was intoxicated”.
“I searched her car and in her handbag I found benzodiazepem,” said Garda Frayne.
Merrigan was taken to Athlone Garda Station where a urine sample was taken. When the test results were returned to Garda Frayne on September 22, 2008 they showed a reading of 127mg of alcohol (27 over the limit ) and traces of methadone and benzodiazepem.
Merrigan, who was also pleading not guilty to a dangerous driving charge, had to hear how Garda Frayne observed her as she “travelled at high speed through a built-up area and crossed over to the other side of the road at the roundabout to maintain control and avoid parked cars”.
“She was very lucky there was no oncoming traffic at the time,” said Garda Frayne.
Merrigan’s solicitor, Mr Padraig Quinn, suggested Gda Frayne’s evidence and written statement “differed quite considerably”, but Garda Frayne suggested her statement was just “more concise”.
Mr Quinn said the only reason his client was out on the night in question was because she had got a call from her sister in town for a lift as she was apprehensive about walking home over the Bonavalley bridge, where there had recently been a number of non-fatal attacks on females.
“The defendant assumed the checkpoint was in relation to this search,” said Mr Quinn.
He also handed in letters from Merrigan’s GP documenting her prescribed medication over the last 10 years, which included methadone and benzodiazepem.
Quizzed about her methadone usage. Merrigan explained how she had to take her measured dosage in front of her pharmacist and there was no possibility of stockpiling the substance.
“I’d really thought there’d been another attack,” she said regarding when she saw the checkpoint on the night in question.
She had not encountered her sister when she got to town, but recognised two friends and was bringing them back to Willow Park and Garrycastle when she pulled the manouevre.
Merrigan stated she was in control of her car and did not lose control at the roundabout on the night and the judge accepted this and dismissed the dangerous driving charge.
“I find Ms Merrigan to be a truthful witness,” said Judge William Earley, but in reference to the drink driving charge: “There was significant justification for Garda Frayne to stop her”.
He convicted Merrigan on this, fined her €200 and banned her from driving for four years.
On hearing Merrigan was the mother of seven-year-old twins, Judge Earley allowed Mr Quinn’s application to postpone the start of the ban until April 1.
