Man jailed for 4½ years after crushing postman’s ankle with car

A man who crushed a postman’s ankle after pinning him against a wall having stolen the victim’s car has been jailed for four and half years.

Shane McKeever (28) stole Thomas Stephens’ vehicle as the man had pulled up in a pub car park to dispose of his recycling in a facility nearby. Mr Stephens (58) noticed the man at his car and went over to investigate when McKeever drove the car, pinning him against a wall and crushing his ankle against a curb.

Mr Stephens was caught for a couple of minutes before McKeever reversed the vehicle. Mr Stephens then approached the car again but McKeever reversed, knocking the man to the ground.

Garda Mark Walsh told Siobhán Ní Chúlacháin BL, prosecuting, that McKeever drove off and crashed at speed into the back of a recycling truck on the M50 ten minutes later. It led to the vehicle being propelled across two lanes of traffic before it struck the crash barrier and overturned.

Gda Walsh was called to assist with the initial incident involving Mr Stephens and remained with the man when he was taken to Tallaght Hospital where he was treated for a triple fracture to his ankle.

The garda was still at the hospital when McKeever was brought in having been involved in the accident on the M50. McKeever had at his stage been nominated as a suspect in the theft of the car after gardaí had viewed nearby CCTV footage.

McKeever refused to give Gda Walsh a sample for testing and was arrested as soon as he was discharged from hospital.

McKeever of Mac Uilliam Parade, Tallaght, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to endangerment, car theft, failure to provide a sample and driving without insurance in Clondalkin on October 11th 2018.

His 86 previous convictions include stealing cars, misuse of drugs, providing false information, theft and road traffic offence. McKeever had been disqualified from driving two weeks earlier.

Judge Martin Nolan said McKeever’s intent had been to take the car but he had difficulty in starting it and driving it which resulted in him pinning Mr Stephens.

He said he had “no doubt” that McKeever hadn’t intended to injure the man but it had left Mr Stephens in great distress and pain and requiring multiple surgeries.

Judge Nolan said he had taken into account that McKeever was remorseful and had since taken steps to deal with his addiction before he disqualified him from driving for six years and jailed him for four and half years.