Sixties musician Donovan has been found guilty of dangerous driving after a fellow motorist reported him to gardaí when he veered repeatedly on to his incorrect side of the road in west Cork.
Donovan (77), best known for songs such as Catch The Wind, Mellow Yellow and Hurdy Gurdy Man, appeared under his full name Donovan Leitch of the Old Rectory, Castlemagner, Co Cork at Skibbereen District Court on three separate driving related charges relating to his driving on February 11th 2023.
He denied dangerous driving at Smorane, Skibbereen, attempting to drive while under the influence of an intoxicant to such an extent that he could not properly control a car at Aghills, Skibbereen and failing to comply with a request to give a breath sample at Bantry Garda station.
Prosecution witness Veronica Whooley told the court she was travelling with her husband from Skibbereen towards Leap at around 8pm on the night in question when they noticed the car in front of them crossing over to the wrong side of the road including as it approached a bad bend.
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Ms Whooley said the driving was so bad that oncoming cars had to slow down and she became so concerned for the driver and other road users that she rang gardaí to report the matter.
Garda Daniel Quinlan, of Skibbereen Garda station, said he took the call from Ms Whooley and noted the registration of the car before proceeding with a colleague to Aghills, where he came upon the car partially pulled in on the hard shoulder and partially on the road.
He approached the car and noticed that the lights were on and the engine running. When he spoke to the driver, Leitch, he appeared very disoriented and his eyes were glazed and bloodshot and he got a smell of alcohol from the driver, who kept saying ‘I’m fine, I’m fine’.
He said Leitch asked him “if everyone was okay and if he had damaged any person or property” and he informed that he had not as far he knew. Leitch proceeded to give him his name, address and date of birth and while his speech was slurred, the witness said it was not overly so.
He saw an open half empty bottle of wine in the console of the car and when he asked Leitch where he was and he said he did not know. The garda informed him he had formed the opinion that he was incapable of being in proper control of the car due to an intoxicant and he arrested him at 8.30pm.
He cautioned Leitch after informing him he was arresting him but Leitch made no reply, so he and his colleague assisted him from his car into the patrol car as he was unsteady on his feet. They conveyed him to Bantry Garda station.
“En route, he apologised repeatedly for making a mistake and he asked to be brought to his hotel. He told us he was on Tommy Tiernan that night and we didn’t know what we were doing and to think of our families and to forget the whole thing. That was the vein of what he was saying.”
Garda Quinlan said he handed Leitch over to Garda Louise Kingston at Bantry Garda station and Garda Colm Spring said he observed Leitch for 20 minutes before asking him to blow into the alkalizer. Leitch made two attempts to use it but did not have enough breath for it to work.
Garda Kingston said she rang SouthDoc at 10.20pm to get a doctor to take a blood or urine sample from Leitch, but a doctor called back at 11pm to say they would not be there until 12.30am, so they dispensed with the GP as that would have been outside the permitted three hours to take a sample.
Garda Quinlan charged Leitch with being drunk in charge of a vehicle to which he replied, ‘I’m sorry, yes, I agree’ and he charged him with failing or refusing to comply with a request to provide a breath sample to which he replied, ‘I’m sorry’.
Garda Spring said in his direct evidence that Leitch appeared to him to be under the influence of an intoxicant, but he said he was making honest effort to blow into the akalizer but simply did not have the breath to do so properly and the machine registered the test as being incomplete.
Respiratory consultant Prof Oisin O’Connell said he examined Leitch last May and found he was suffering from severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and restrictive lung disease, while his right diaphragm was 7cm shorter than his left all of which resulted in reduced lung capacity.
Defence counsel Michael McGrath SC made a number of submissions on each of the charges including that Prof O’Connell’s evidence offered a clear and recognised defence on failing to give a breath sample. Judge James McNulty agreed and struck out the failing to give a sample charge.
However, Judge McNulty said he found Ms Whooley a credible and convincing witness and he commended her for moral bravery in doing her civic duty and ringing gardaí about Leitch’s driving as she was concerned about his own safety and those of other road users.
Judge McNulty convicted Leitch of dangerous driving but adjourned the issue of penalty while he reserved judgment on the final charge of attempting to drive while under the influence of an intoxicant. He adjourned the matter to Skibberean District Court on February 13th next.
