30 cars avoided crash before head-on collision

30 cars avoided crash before head-on collision

11 April 2011

A BALLYNAHINCH man has been jailed for 18 months for dangerous driving.
Christopher Morris Allison was also banned from driving for five years after causing a head-on collision outside the town on April 30 last year.
Downpatrick Crown Court heard up to 30 cars had to take evasive action as Allison weaved across the Belfast Road for several miles before the accident.
Witnesses to the incident, Mr. Chris McCann and his wife, who were travelling behind Allison, saw him crash into a parked car and drive on. The couple became so worried about Allison's driving Mrs. McCann rang 999 to warn the police.
However, before the PSNI could respond Allison crashed into a car containing an elderly couple which spun into a ditch.
The couple received only minor injuries but Allison, of Croob Park, had a fracture to his cervical spine, six broken ribs and a bad laceration to his head.
Police officers reported smelling alcohol from Allison at the scene of the crash but a blood test taken over two hours later in hospital found no alcohol in his system.
Defence barrister, Mr. Kevin O'Hare, said 31 year-old Allison had little memory of the accident. He said his last memory was bending down to pick up an inhaler which had fallen to the floor.
Mr. O'Hare said the blood test clearly ruled out drink-driving as the cause and he described the moments leading up to the accident as "bizarre."
Judge David Smyth described Allison's driving as "utterly appalling."
"There was an initial collision outside Ballynahinch and then a continuous period of bad driving for five minutes until you caused a head-on collision," he said.
"You were badly injured which is a measure of the seriousness of the collision. But it is happenstance that those injuries happened to you and nobody else was seriously injured or killed.
"It is sufficient to say that your driving was very dangerous and endangered many persons using that particular stretch of road," added Judge Smyth.
Allison was also jailed for four months for failing to stop after the first accident which will run concurrently with the 18-month sentence.