Teen risked lives of two gardaí by driving speeding car at them in Tallaght, court told

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named because he is a minor, was charged with two counts of endangerment during the incident in Tallaght in January.

He appeared before Judge Paul Kelly at the Dublin Children’s Court after gardaí received directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Garda Eoghan Grant told a preliminary hearing that the teen made no reply to the charges.

The court heard it was alleged that the teen was driving at high speed on January 29 at Mac Uilliam Way.

Gda Grant told the court: "The car came at us and swerved around us a the last minute and stopped."

He and a colleague approached the stationary car to open the doors.

He said the teen “suddenly reversed” over a footpath and then came forward again, and “we had to take evasive action to avoid being struck”.

He alleged the teenager “waited for us to approach on foot and drove at us”.

However, the court heard that the car then got stuck in mud, at which point the teen abandoned the vehicle to flee.

No injuries were suffered, but the garda added that "the manner of the driving was particularly dangerous" and that he and his colleague had to "jump out of the way".

Asked by the judge if the driver had been "trying to scare" them, the garda replied: "I don't know, it was very unusual for someone who was going to abandon the car that they would not have done it before we approached".

The teenager also has a charge for possessing €30 of cannabis.

Judge Kelly remanded the boy on bail to appear again in October when he must enter a plea to the charges.

Legal aid was granted, and the judge ordered the youth to obey a 10pm to 7am curfew, remain contactable by mobile phone, and not use any motor vehicle.