A 37-year man found by Gardai unsteady on his feet and with slurred speech 150 feet away from his crashed car on a motorway has escaped a drink-driving ban on appeal.
At Ennis Circuit Court, Judge Francis Comerford found that Setanta Helferty’s proximity to his car was not sufficient proof beyond reasonable doubt to say that he was driving his car.
At the district court, Mr Helferty of Bruach Na Habhainn, Quin Rd, Ennis, received a three year driving ban, was fined €200 after being convicted of drink driving at Kilbreckan, Ennis on the M18 motorway on March 31st 2023.
At Mr Helferty’s appeal hearing at the circuit court, Garda Cyril Page told the court that Mr Helferty’s alcohol reading was 221 mg of alcohol per 100ml of urine – which is more than three times the legal limit of 67 mg of alcohol per 100ml of urine for experienced drivers.
At the scene just after 11.50pm, Garda Page stated that Mr Helferty told him that he had been out drinking with friends.
Garda Page told the court that he arrested Mr Helferty on suspicion of drink driving as “I noticed that he was unstable on his feet, there was a strong smell of intoxicating liquor from his breath and his speech was slurred”.
Garda Page said that Mr Helferty confirmed that he was the owner of the crashed Volkswagen Golf but declined to answer when asked if he was driving the car.
Garda Page said the car had crashed into a concrete barrier close to Junction 12 on the M18 outside Ennis.
Garda Page said that Mr Helferty was walking with a dog 150 ft form the crashed car and he handcuffed him for everyone’s safety as he was walking on the hard shoulder of the motorway.
Counsel for Mr Helferty, Kenneth Kerins BL (instructed by solicitor, Patrick Horan) told Judge Comerford: “there is no proof of my client driving” and on appeal, Judge Comerford has overturned the driving ban and drink driving conviction.
Judge Comerford said that “despite the likelihoods, I have to allow the appeal”.
He said: “For a criminal prosecution there needs to be something more than just proximity to the car afterwards.”
Judge Comerford said: “It is a possibility that there were two people in the car at the time of the accident and it is a possibility that the other person was the driver and left the scene in a different direction.”
Judge Comerford said that the factors that Mr Helferty was the owner of the vehicle; was found by Gardai 150 metres away from the car are circumstances that are suggestive that he was the driver of the car.
He said: “By themselves do they establish that he was the driver?”
Judge Comerford said that the fact that Mr Helferty wasn’t asked under Section 107 of the Road Traffic Act was he the driver meant that he could not infer anything by Mr Helferty’s refusal to confirm that he was the driver.
Mr Kerins told the court that he would have “grave concerns” that the court would infer that Mr Helferty was driving over his failure to answer.
He said: “We don’t have a witness, we have no identification evidence of the driver, no admissions and only speculation.”
Judge Comerford said that he had no difficulty inferring that Mr Helferty was in the car.
