MY STOLEN CAR WAS IN CRASH HORROR Owner never got to drive motor

Sunday Mirror, Jan 19, 2003 by LARISSA NOLAN

THE car involved in a horror joyriding smash that killed a taxi driver and a teen had never even been driven by its owner.

David Docherty, 23, didn't get a chance to drive the powerful Honda Integra because insurance companies refused to give him a quote him for it.

So the car sat unused outside David's home in Artane, Dublin, for nearly a year.

Shortly after he sold the car to a pal last month, teenage joyriders stole it and smashed it into a cab, killing Robert McGowan, 30, outright.

One of the occupants of the stolen car died of his injuries in hospital this week.

Scotsman David, who settled in Ireland four years ago, was still listed on the car as the owner, as paperwork had not yet been changed after the sale.

The tragedy became one of the most high-profile joyriding cases ever.

JCB driver David said he felt "shocked and angry" when he heard what had happened and he is furious at the teen car thieves who left a young cabbie dead.

"It's hard to believe it is the same car, it's hard to even work out that it's the same one," David said after seeing the car on TV.

"It's such a terrible tragedy and I feel anger towards the young men who did this for thrills."

David believes that the people responsible for the smash should be tried for murder.

"I was speaking to someone involved in the case and they told me the car must have been doing around 120mph.

"What they did was selfish and stupid and now a young man has been taken away in the prime of his life because of them.

"It was simply mindless violence - if you travel that fast you now you will kill someone.

"They should be tried for murder because that's what they did, they murdered an innocent person just out doing his job," he said.

David says he feels huge sympathy towards Robert McGowan's devastated family.

"I was thinking about the fact that I was down as the owner of that car and it's a terrible feeling to know what it was involved in.

"But the thing is, I could not do anything to stop those people stealing it. No one could. This is what they do and, short of clamping the car, you can't prevent it.

"It was over 10 years old, but my car was always going to be a target I suppose because it is so fast and powerful.

"A few months back, I came out to find three young lads trying to break into it at nine o'clock at night, but they ran off when I came out.

"I can only imagine what Robert McGowan's family are going through at the moment. Their lives must be torn apart.

"It's bad enough to lose a grandparent through natural causes. Can you imagine what it is like to lose a young son, because a group of brain-dead joyriders decided to speed around in a stolen car?" he blasted.

The three occupants of the stolen car, all from Dublin's north inner city, were taken to the Mater Hospital. One of the boys died this week from his injuries.

Self-employed cabbie Robert was alone in his taxi at the time.

His family told of their heart- break after their beloved Robert - a dad-of-one - died instantly when his car was rammed by the stolen Honda vehicle.

His sister, Lorraine, 34, said: "The whole family are just devastated and in shock. It is such a terrible tragedy.

"I saw Robert on Friday he was on his way to work and I was taking care of his son Daniel. He was in great form. He always worked nights."

Robert, who lived in the family home in Galtymore, Drimnagh, has a two-year-old son, Daniel, with his girlfriend of 10 years, Debbie Lackey.

His other sister Audrey, 35, said: "The worst thing is that the people who did this will probably never be properly punished.

"They will be out and about and probably back in a car again and we'll have to live with this forever."

His uncle, Paddy Brennan, said: "The family can't cope with Robert's death. His father, Paddy, is in total shock. He hasn't really spoken since he heard the news."

National Taxi Driver's Union's Vinnie Kearns said joyriders kill an average of four taxi drivers each year.

He called on Justice Minister Michael McDowell to increase the punishment for the killing of public servants in the line of duty.