Father jailed at Laois court for driving at 177km/h with children unrestrained in his car

A MAN who was detected driving at a speed of 177km/h along the motorway in Laois with two children unrestrained in his car, was sentenced to four months imprisonment when his case came before last week’s sitting of the District Court in Portlaoise.

Laii Muntean from 37 Russell Lawns, Tallaght, Dublin 24, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and with driving without insurance or a driving license along the M7 at Ballybrittas on 14 August last year.

Judge Catherine Ryan was told that when stopped by gardaí the defendant told them that the reason why he was driving at speed was because one of his children had taken ill, had fallen unconscious and he was taking her to a hospital in Dublin.

One of the children, the court was told, was sitting in the front passenger seat while the other was lying across a woman’s lap in the back seat.

The court was told that Mr Muntean had 92 previous convictions and was currently serving a prison sentence with his release date on 18 November.

Noting that six of Mr Muntean’s previous convictions were for driving while uninsured Judge Ryan said: “He has a total disregard for the law. He was putting his children and other road users at risk. You need to be off the road.” Garda Sergeant JJ Kirby told the court that the defendant is currently under a 10-year driving ban.

She went on to convict the defendant of dangerous driving, imposed a four-month sentence to commence on the expiry of his existing sentence and fined him €1,000. For driving while uninsured he was convicted, fined €2,500 and disqualified from driving for four years.

She took the other matter of driving without a licence into account.