Two-year driving ban for woman after crash on busy Donegal road - Donegal Daily

A woman charged with careless driving following a road traffic collision in Donegal has been put off the road and hit with fines totalling €1,200.Derry woman Ci...

A woman charged with careless driving following a road traffic collision in Donegal has been put off the road and hit with fines totalling €1,200.

Derry woman Ciara Gillespie was charged with five offences following the collision on the N13 at Sharon Glebe, Newtowncunningham on July 10, 2024.

Gillespie, 44, of Clondara Park in Derry city, was not present in court and had no legal representation when her case was called before Judge Emile Daly at Letterkenny District Court.

Gillespie was charged with careless driving, driving without insurance, driving without a licence, failing to produce insurance and failing to produce a licence.

Witness Barry Graham told the court that he and other members of his family were travelling on the road in the direction of Bridgend. Mr Graham said that traffic was “fairly heavy” as they approached Dillon’s Garage.

Traffic was”slowing down” when “the next thing we got hit from behind and were catapulted forward”. The court heard how their vehicle, a Vauxhall Mokka, went across the road onto a grass verge.

They had been hit by a blue MG ZS, which Mr Graham said was “severely damaged” and two ladies were sitting on the road outside of it when he approached.

Photos of the incident were handed into the court by Garda Sergeant Jim Collins.

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Garda Tom Moore said he was dispatched to the scene of a two-vehicle collision on the day in question.

He said Gillespie identified herself as the driver of the MG ZS. She elected to produce documents at Buncrana Garda Station, but failed to do so, the court heard.

Sergeant Collins confirmed that Gillespie has no previous convictions.

For careless driving, Gillespie was fined €600 and disqualified from driving for two years. Gillespie was also fined €400 for driving without insurance, an offence for which she was given a concurrent two-year ban.

The defendant was fined €200 for driving without a licence while the failure to produce charges were marked as taken into consideration by the court.