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Driver stops drunk minister's swaying car with his attic
Page 8
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How do you stop a drunk former Transport Minister? You block a dual carriageway with your artic. Ann Marie Foley reports.
A TRUCK DRIVER blocked a major road to avoid an accident when a former Irish Transport Minister drove erratically for several miles on the wrong side of a busy dual carriageway.
Jim McDaid was arrested for drunk-driving after Patrick Walsh stopped him on the N7 from Dublin to Kildare.
The incident started at lOpm on 26 April when McDaid set off in his car and turned right instead of left onto a roundabout before driving against oncoming traffic on the dual carriageway.
Walsh, called the Gardai and pursued McDaid on his side of the dual carriageway flashing his lights to warn oncoming vehicles. "My stomach was churning with fright to see him go down the road," he says. "He was very erratic, going from one side of the road to another and putting his headlights on and off."
After passing another roundabout Walsh managed to block both lanes of the carriageway with his artic,forcing McDaid's car to a halt so he could snatch the keys.
McDaid was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol; he has since apologised, explaining that he had spent the afternoon in a corporate box at the Punchestown races and consumed several glasses of wine on an empty stomach.
During his time as Transport Minister McDaid regularly warned against drink-driving.
Walsh says he thought the driver looked familiar.