Rampage bus driver 'was insane'

Peter Clarke will be detained in a mental hospital

A bus driver who killed a woman in a rampage in Dublin has been found not guilty of manslaughter due to insanity.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard Peter Clarke, 38, was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and believed gardaí were trying to kill him.

He drove down the wrong side of the Naas dual carriageway, damaged 25 cars, and rammed a number of garda vehicles.

Maire Buckley, 62, pushed her daughter out of their car but could not get out herself and was hit by the bus.

Ms Buckley, a teacher who worked with underprivileged children in Dublin's north inner city, was dragged underneath Clarke's vehicle during the 2006 "odyssey of destruction".

In a statement, her family said her memory would always be cherished and that she always put others before herself, being more concerned for the safety of her daughter than for her own.

They said they hoped that they would gain closure and healing and wished nothing less for Mr Clarke, who will be detained in the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum.