Woman convicted of hit and run at shopping centre in Laois

A woman drove off after being told she had hit a car at a Laois shopping centre, a sitting of Portlaoise District Court was told. 

Aisling Ruane (47) of Apartment 3, Barrow Mews, Portarlington, Laois, was accused of four counts of hit and run for failing to remain at the scene, failing to stop, failure to report an accident and failing to give appropriate information at the Kyle Shopping Centre in Portlaoise on July 19, 2024. 

A woman gave evidence of parking her BMW near Elverys shop on the date in question. She returned and discovered the car was damaged and scratched along one side. She went into the store to see if she could find CCTV and when she returned she discovered a note on the car from a woman who said she witnessed someone hitting the car.

Anne Doyle BL asked the woman if there could have been other people parked beside her and she agreed there could have been.  Ms Doyle asked if the woman had a mechanic’s report and whether an assessment had been completed. 

The woman said she didn’t have a report but she said the gardai had assessed the damage which amounted to €3,500.  She said an insurance company had paid for the damage. 

Claire Maher, who wrote the note, took to the stand and recounted what she had witnessed. She said she was in her car with the door open due to the heat. “I heard a bang. There was a light blue Corsa reversing out,” she recalled. 

Ms Maher said she confronted the driver. “I said you are after hitting that car, I saw you.” The female driver responded, “no I didn’t”. Ms Maher said  “I said you just hit that car and she said no, it wasn’t me.” The driver left but not before Ms Maher got a photograph of her reg plate. 

Ms Doyle asked Ms Maher if she had actually seen an impact and Ms Maher admitted she had not but she heard a bang, witnessed the passenger get out and look at the BMW and watched the car reverse out. 

Garda Alyssa O’Sullivan said she responded to a report of a hit and run at the shopping centre. She said it had been alleged there was a collision between an 09 reg Corsa and a 161 registered BMW. 

She attended at the home of the defendant who declined to give a statement but said “I didn’t see I hit the car, can we just sort it through insurance.” Garda O’Sullivan said the car was taken by gardaí for examination. 

Ms Doyle said there was no CCTV of the incident. Garda O’Sullivan said she had watched CCTV of the Corsa pulling out of a space but the video was “corrupted” and can no longer play. 

“There seems to be a number of holes in the prosecution's case,” said Ms Doyle. She said there was no technical report of the damage caused  to the cars which had been carried out and could link or clear her client.  

Judge Andrew Cody said he was concerned about the lack of a technical report. He asked if the defendant wanted to take to the stand and she agreed to give evidence. 

The defendant denied hearing any bang and said “I would have left a note if it was me that done it.” She said she had bought her car very cheaply because it had scratches and damage. 

Garda Sergeant JJ Kirby put it to the woman that she had caused the damage to the BMW. 

“I would have left a note on the car,” she responded. Sgt Kirby again said he believed she caused the damage. “That is your version of it,” she replied. 

Judge Andrew Cody asked the woman why she hadn’t stopped to look at either cars after being confronted. She said her car was already damaged and she had allowed the witness to take a picture of her car. 

Judge Cody found the defendant guilty of hit and run failing to stop and hit and run failing to remain at the scene but he said the other two offences weren’t proven. Judge Cody said it was inexplicable that she would not have looked at either car for damage and he asked about previous convictions. 

He was told she had previous convictions for no insurance, no NCT and had been disqualified for four years for drug driving in November 2020. 

Judge Cody noted the woman got her licence back early, a process which would involve an application through the district court. “This woman shouldn’t have been driving at all,” he said.  

Ms Doyle said her client suffered with significant health issues. She said the woman relies on a crutch to get around and “she genuinely didn’t believe that there was damage done to the vehicle.” She said the previous drug driving conviction related to a time when she was an addict. 

 “This lady should not have been on the road till the 18th of November 2024,”  said Judge Cody. He disqualified her from driving for two years and fined her €250 for failing to remain at the scene and imposed the same penalty again for failing to stop. He fixed recognisance in case of appeal.