A man who appeared before Limerick Circuit Court after crashing into a roundabout during a Garda pursuit has said that taking magic mushrooms led him to believe his car would turn into an aeroplane.
John O’Mahony (29) with an address on Clara Road, Millstreet, County Cork pleaded guilty to, 10 counts of dangerous driving, to two counts of endangerment, and failing to remain at the scene of a collision.
The prosecution said that the incident had commenced at around 5pm on the 4th of April 2021 when a vehicle driven by O’ Mahony had failed to stop for inspection at a Garda checkpoint passing it by “at great and dangerous speed heading towards Mallow”
Due to the speed the vehicle was travelling at the Gradai operating the checkpoint were unable to catch up to it.
As the vehicle sped through Buttevant, O’Mahony failed to stop after a garda raised his hand in order to halt the vehicle.
When O’Mahony reached Charleville, he hit the wing mirror of a vehicle he overtook but failed to stop.
A garda in an unmarked vehicle also attempted to stop the speeding car but was unsuccessful.
A garda sergeant testified that O’Mahony failed to stop when the police sirens were activated on the vehicle he was travelling in.
O’Mahony drove down the wrong side of the N20 as the incident continued to unfold.
Giving evidence in the case, a garda sergeant described how other motorists were forced into the path of pursuing Gardai as O’Mahony was travelling at some 140km/hr near Patrickswell before eventually crashing into a roundabout on the outskirts of Limerick.
It was reported that the incident had taken place for over an hour and that O’ Mahony had travelled at alarming speed from North Cork to the Raheen Industrial Estate where the crash took place causing his Toyota Corolla to become airborne.
O’Mahony, whose defence counsel argued that his client had consumed the magic mushrooms in an attempt to alleviate his depression, was uninjured in the collision.
Sentencing in the case was adjourned to allow the presiding judge to read reports that had been handed in.
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