Lorry driver rear ended vehicle with animals in it on Laois motorway

A lorry driver rear ended another lorry with animals in it, Portlaoise court heard last week. 

Dingzhong Pan, 44, of 8 Liffey View, Liffey Valley Park, Lucan, Dublin was charged with dangerous driving at the M7 Togher on February 17 this year. This was reduced to careless driving. 

Sgt JJ Kirby told the court that at the M7 Togher there was a road traffic accident at the M7 Togher on that date. Mr Pan had rear ended another vehicle. 

An analysis of his mobile phone had shown there was plenty of activity on it at the time. 

The vehicle rear ended was a Mercedes truck. 

Defence solicitor Josephine Fitzpatrick noted that Mr Pan relied on his licence for his income. There had been an issue with brakes in his vehicle in the past. The brakes had been replaced but the problem had arisen again. The pedal box was crushed. He was saying there was no traction when he stepped on the brakes. There was a transport operative in court. 

Ms Fitzpatrick, noted there was stock in the other vehicle. She told Judge Staines that one animal had been injured. The lorry had been taking them to an abattoir at the time.

Judge Staines said it was irrelevant whether they were going to an abattoir. They were sentient beings at the time of the collision, and  the animal would have been in a lot of pain. 

Ms Fitzpatrick said it was an unhappy set of circumstances. She said that Mr Pan had pleaded guilty early. He was a Chinese national who had been driving full time for the past few years.  

Judge Staines said it was a serious injury to the animal. She agreed to reduce it to careless driving.

She fined him €200 and disqualified him for three months.