Man who drove taxi the wrong way on A55 jailed for three years

A dad-of-two high on drink and drugs who stole a minibus, hit a cyclist and drove the wrong way along a dual carriageway has been jailed.

Darragh O'Grady, 31, from Dublin, arrived by ferry in Holyhead, Anglesey, where he stole a woman's phone and her bank cards that he used to spend between £100 and £200.

Sentencing O'Grady at Caernarfon Crown Court to three years, Judge Betts said it was "only a matter of sheer luck that you didn't kill yourself or someone else".

O'Grady had admitted taking cocaine and Valium, as well as drinking alcohol. He admitted he had a history of mental illness and episodes of schizophrenia.

O'Grady, who has two young children, arrived in Holyhead on 24 August to see his uncle who lived in the UK.

He stole the minibus belonging to a taxi firm, which he drove around Holyhead, before hitting cyclist Richard Owen Roberts with a wing mirror, knocking him unconscious.

Roberts was taken to Royal Stoke Hospital, where he was treated for two broken ribs, a cut to his liver and widespread abrasions.

O'Grady passed a second cyclist at speed, who believed he would also have been hit if the taxi's wing mirror had not already been damaged.

The defendant then drove on the A55 at speed heading east on the westbound carriageway, and was "swerving in and out of lanes", hitting vehicles as they tried to avoid him.

A driver who witnessed the incident said in a victim impact statement she felt a "sense of her life passing before" her eyes.

The owner of the taxi said they felt "violated and angry" at what happened, having discovered the stolen vehicle coming towards them in the wrong direction. They had to swerve in the road to avoid it.

With O'Grady refusing to stop, a police stinger was deployed, the court heard.

Officers said it was clear O'Grady - who was filmed by another motorist giving a thumbs up as he drove on the wrong side of the road - was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, but he refused to be tested at the scene.

Three days after the offences took place, O'Grady pleaded guilty to seven offences at magistrates' court.

A psychiatric report was ordered but not completed before Tuesday's hearing, with O'Grady saying he wanted the matter dealt with.

The court was told that O'Grady admitted to having a criminal record in Ireland and told the probation service he had spent time in what was described as a "custodial setting".

In his defence it was said O'Grady had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and felt genuine remorse for his actions.

Judge Betts said it was "completely stupid and ridiculous" for O'Grady to have driven on the A55 in the way he did, adding that "it's very difficult to understand why you did any of this".

As well as pleading guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving, for which was jailed for three years, O'Grady also pleaded guilty to failing to provide a breath specimen, aggravated taking of the taxi at Holyhead, theft of a woman's mobile phone, fraud using bank cards, and driving with no licence and no insurance.

He has been banned from driving for five and a half years and must take an extended driving test before he can drive again in the UK.

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