Fine for crashing into Portlaoise bridge

A lorry driver who crashed into a railway bridge has been fined €300. 

Vaidas Brazinskas, 47, of  Lietuva, Kalvarita, Lithuania admitted to a charge of careless driving at the Mountmellick Road in Portlaoise on August 25 last. 

Sgt JJ Kirby said the defendant has no previous convictions. He described the bridge as “poorly signposted” and said such incidents were a regular occurrence. 

Solicitor Philip Meagher said his client has been driving trucks for 12 years and had just moved here to work for an Irish company when the collision occurred. 

“He was relying on a GPS in the truck that sent him that route,” he said.  The driver realised his error just prior to the collision and managed to slow down, Mr Meagher said. 

He said the man hasn’t been able to find accommodation in Ireland. “He is actually living in  his truck,” he told the sitting of Portlaoise District Court. 

Noting the early plea, Judge Andrew Cody fined the man €300 and gave him three months to pay.