Intoxicated driver crashed into another vehicle in Cork car park

A young driver who had been drinking and did not have insurance crashed his uncle’s car into another vehicle in a busy multi-storey supermarket car park, the district court has heard.

Sergeant Tom Mulcahy told Clonakilty District Court the incident occurred on the upper floor of the car park at Scally’s SuperValu, Scartagh, Clonakilty, Co Cork at 5.15pm on the evening of May 2.

The court was told an Opel Corsa car that was parked in the car park was struck by a Renault Fluence driven by Vladyslav Uzun, aged 22, with an address at Emmet Square, Clonakilty.

The impact damaged the rear passenger door of the parked car. Gardaí were called and Uzun admitted he was the driver of the Fluence, which he said belonged to his uncle. Uzun was described as showing signs of intoxication, including slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, and being unsteady on his feet.

Uzun told gardaí he had consumed two cans of Guinness and he was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving. A Garda station breath test confirmed Uzun’s breath alcohol level at 56mg per 100ml of breath, where the legal limit is 22mg. It was also confirmed he was not insured to drive the car.

Defence solicitor Conrad Murphy said Uzun was a Ukrainian who had come to Ireland in September 2025. The court was told Uzun resided with his uncle, was fully cooperative and had no previous convictions. Mr Murphy said his client made full admissions and contributed to society, working in a local factory.

The court was told Uzun was apologetic for what had happened and wished to apologise to the gardaí and the court for “wasting their time”. 

Judge Andrew Cody imposed a two-year driving disqualification on Uzun and fined him €500 for driving while intoxicated and €500 for driving without insurance. He was given six months to pay the fines.

This article is funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme