A Dubliner has been spared jail and ordered to pay compensation of €10,000 to a cyclist he drove through at traffic lights in the city.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard the
driver – Sean Kearns (33), Whitechurch Avenue, Rathfarnham – lost his temper
and drove through cyclist Marcelo Valencia.
CCTV footage viewed in court showed
Kearns drive into and through Mr Valencia on the road when the cyclist stopped
in front of the car Kearns was driving at red lights.
The cyclist was sent up into the air on
impact and then onto the road, suffering a series of injuries.
Kearns then fled the scene and when he
was tracked down he initially denied he had hit Mr Valencia.
He also has six previous convictions, including one for dangerous driving recorded in 2015, the year after he drove through Mr Valencia deliberately and in a temper.
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Kearns pleaded guilty to endangerment at
Drimnagh Road, Crumlin, Dublin, on August 27th, 2014.
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The court heard Mr Valencia was cycling
along the road and nearly crashed when Kearns passed him closely in his car.
At traffic lights further up the road Mr
Valencia caught up with Kearns and position himself in front of his vehicle and
looked back at him.
The court heard Kearns lost his temper
as Mr Valencia looked back at him in an angry way. And when the lights turned
green Kearns drove through the cyclist and then drove off.
The incident was witnessed by several
people, one of whom described the driving they had seen as “beyond dangerous”.
Mr Valencia landed on his head and had
to be helped up off the road by witnesses. He suffered a series of minor
injuries, which he has recovered from.
The court was told a separate civil
action taken by Mr Valencia has been settled out of court.
Judge
Martin Nolan today gave Kearns two years to pay a further €10,000 to Mr
Valencia and imposed a three-year suspended sentence, meaning the driver will
spend no time in jail.
Judge Nolan said he took into account
Kearns had a history of hard work, and treated that as a mitigating factor.
A barrister acting for Kearns said it
had acted “spur of the moment” and due to a “rush of blood to the head”.
He added Kearns had been a very good
golfer but lost his form and he had become depressed.
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