A MAN charged with dangerous driving claimed that he was rushing home as his wife became scared about people who turned up to their home.
William McClure (39) Burnside, Galdonagh, Manorcunningham, was before Letterkenny District Court charged with dangerous driving on the N14 Lifford-Letterkenny Road on January 18, 2019.
An off-duty Garda saw a van being driven by McClure crossing a continuous white line. The road surface was wet and visibility reduced at the time.
McClure encountered oncoming traffic with other motorists forced into the hard shoulder.
Sergeant Gerard Dalton told the court that McClure indicated to Gardaí that there were people near his home and his wife was scared.
“He was overtaking vehicles after the bad bends at Tullyrap,” Sergeant Dalton said. “He was side-by-side with a pick-up when traffic came from the other direction.”
McClure’s solicitor, Mr Frank Dorrian, said his client was very familiar with the road and thought it was safe to manoeuvre as he did.
“The emergency was real,” Mr Dorrian said. “There were rather sinister circumstances the day before where these men were trying to convince his wife to sell something to them. They live in a country location.”
Judge Kelly reduced the charge to one of careless driving and fined McClure €550.