A MECHANIC on a night out in Letterkenny danced on the road in front of a 40-foot lorry before fleeing gardaí, a court has heard.
Eamonn Donnelly stopped the lorry as it drove on Ramelton Road not far from the Tesco roundabout in the town.
And when the lorry was forced to stop, Donnelly grabbed hold of a wing mirror of the vehicle, said Garda Inspector Michael Harrison.
Gardai who witnessed the incident ran after Donnelly.
“The defendant was apprehended after a brief pursuit,” said Inspector Harrison.
Defence solicitor Frank Dorrian said Donnelly had been in the middle of the road in the early hours of March 27 this year, but he hadn’t been aware that a lorry had stopped behind him.
“It was a stupid incident involving late night revelry. It wasn’t as hazardous a situation as it sounds. He apologises for what happened,” said Mr Dorrian.
“It was over-indulgence on a night out and it was bizarre behaviour.”
Judge Paul Kelly asked 21-year-old mechanic Donnelly, from Curr Road, Beragh, Omagh: “What were you doing in Letterkenny.”
Donnelly replied: “I was out on the pull.”
When the judge asked him to repeat his comment, Donnelly remained silent.
Then Judge Kelly asked him: “Is that what you do on nights out in Omagh?”
Donnelly replied: “No.”
Judge Kelly said the incident was “bizarre” which “defied any reason.”
He said Donnelly’s behaviour was “stupid” and that there could have been “much more serious consequences.”
He ordered Donnelly to make a €250 donation to the pro-social driving programme telling him: “Watch yourself in future.”