A Tipperary driver who uploaded his dangerous driving antics onto YouTube, has been sentenced to four months in jail.
Aaron Stanley from Nenagh in Tipperary clocked up more than 26,000 views on the Internet after posting reckless footage of him and his friends joy-riding around east Clare in his Toyota car.
The joyriding was filmed on July 14, 2010 and after it was posted online, one viewer brought it to the attention of local police. Just two days before, a serious two-car collision had resulted in the deaths of eight young men in Donegal.
All of the occupants of the car are identifiable and the registration plates of two of the three cars involved were visible also. However, Stanley is the only person to appear in court over the matter.
Attorney for the defense, Tony O’Malley, said that due to the publicity of the incident, the 22-year-old had received death threats and went into hiding for a period of time as a result.
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Some of the irresponsible footage shows the three cars approaching a school crossing. Viewers can see Stanley and the front-seat passenger sticking their feet out of the front window while oncoming traffic approaches them.
O’Malley said that his client had a fixation with cars and that he was playing up for the camera but recognized his actions were dangerous and reckless.
The defendant had an extensive rap sheet and last month he received a three-month sentence for stealing a car.
Judge Aeneas McCarthy sentenced him to four months in prison and disqualified him for driving for the next decade.
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