A MAN who drove a car into a field and fled has been convicted and fined €200 and ordered to carry out community service.

Darragh McCarthy, (31), of Slip Heights, Bantry, pleaded guilty at Clonakilty District Court to  careless driving, failing to remain at the scene and failing to report an incident.

The court heard that on May 19th last, gardaí on patrol observed a blue BMW with its hazard lights on in a field in Dunmanway. All its airbags were inflated when ambulance and fire crews attended, with no driver in sight.

The court heard that the driver of the car had come from Ballincollig to Dunmanway, run over a T-junction with a stop sign and had landed in a field.

The registered owner of the car, Mr McCarthy’s girlfriend, said she had given the defendant permission to drive it that night. Gardaí asked Mr McCarthy to produce his documents at Dunmanway Garda Station, where he admitted driving the car, saying he could not recall anything about the night. He was shocked and panicked at the time, the court heard.

Mr McCarthy had ten previous convictions, most recently for careless driving and drink driving from Bantry District Court on May 14th when he was disqualified from driving, fined €150 and received a three-months suspended sentence.

Defence solicitor Conrad Murphy said Mr McCarthy had been out bowling in Ballincollig before the incident and had no recollection of the events of that night.

The accused was a named driver on his girlfriend’s insurance policy, the court heard. Mr Murphy said his client had had no convictions since 2016. The court heard that Mr McCarthy, who was currently unemployed, had an eight-year-old daughter who he had sole custody of.      

Judge Joanne Carroll fined him €200 for careless driving. For failing to remain at the scene the judge imposed 40 hours of community service in lieu of six weeks in prison. Judge Carroll struck out the charge of failing to report an occurrence.

Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme.