Driver almost four times over legal alcohol limit appears at Carlow court
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A motorist who was found with almost four times the legal alcohol limit in his blood after crashing his car into a pole was given a suspended sentence and put off the road for six years when he appeared before Carlow District Court recently.
The court heard that it was Thomas O’Keefe’s second offence for drink-driving, while he was also convicted last week for dangerous driving. The charges arose after Mr O’Keefe, of St Dominic’s Park, Athy, crashed his car into a pole on the Athy Road, Carlow on 12 May last year.
Sergeant Morgan O’Connor told the court that gardaí were called to the scene of an accident and found Mr O’Keefe (57) there, who admitted “drinking a large amount of alcohol”.
Sgt O’Connor continued that when the defendant was tested for the presence of alcohol, it showed almost four times the legal alcohol limit in his blood. He told Judge Geraldine Carthy that Mr O’Keefe had another conviction for drink-driving, which predated the incident before the court.
Solicitor Joe Farrell told the judge that his client “had a difficult relationship with alcohol” and that he fully co-operated with the gardaí.
Judge Carthy said she was concerned that it was Mr O’Keefe’s second conviction for drink-drinking and that the levels of alcohol were so high in his blood test.
On the dangerous driving charge, she sentenced him to four months’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, on condition that he does not drive. She also disqualified him from driving for six years and fined him €250 on the drink-driving charge.
