Pair jailed after traffic accident

Pair jailed after traffic accident

18 January 2017

TWO men have been jailed for causing the death of a Ballyhornan pensioner after he was struck by a car.

Che McManus (21), of Carriff Court, Downpatrick, was sentenced to nine months in prison after admitting causing the death of Patrick Wilkinson by dangerous driving on June 25, 2014. He will serve another nine months on licence after his release.

Daryl Kirton (23), formerly of Crossgar but now with an address at Fell Street in Liverpool, received a six-month sentence after pleading guilty to causing death by careless driving.

He further admitted to causing the death of Mr Wilkinson while driving with no insurance.

The two men were driving in separate cars at the time.

Their 72-year-old victim was struck on the Killard Road in Ballyhornan — a stretch of road at the centre of a long-running appeal by residents calling for a reduction in the speed limit to 30mph.

Infrastructure Minister Chris Hazzard recently confirmed action would be taken to introduce the lower speed limit.

On the day of the fatal accident Mr Wilkinson had been helping his son-in-law herd cattle into his farm on the Killard Road. Afterwards Mr Wilkinson was standing near his Land Rover Discovery, which was parked on the side of the road  with its hazard lights on, when he saw two cars coming round the corner.

Downpatrick Crown Court heard McManus, an R driver, “lost control and started to spin on the road”, his Vauxhall Corsa car striking the Land Rover and fatally injuring Mr Wilkinson, who died from his injuries at the scene.

In front of McManus was Kirton in a Seat Cupra who noticed a “puff of smoke behind him” in his rear view mirror. He was described as driving aggressively.

Mr Wilkinson’s daughter “started screaming and shouting” at McManus who in turn made an offensive gesture to her.

The Wilkinson family had previously indicated to the court that they accepted McManus was not aware of what had happened to Mr Wilkinson at that stage. 

However, in his sentencing remarks on Thursday, Judge Grant told McManus this was not the way to behave at what was clearly a “scene of devastation” immediately after the accident.

“You showed little or any remorse whatsoever,” he said. “Even if you had a mere minor collision of that sort nobody should behave in that way.”

Judge Grant said both McManus and Kirton had been seen earlier in Ballyhornan on CCTV, driving at 30mph, 20 metres apart.

He noted an engineer’s report had discounted the possibility of the road conditions playing a material part in the accident. He said the engineer also found McManus’s car was travelling at 40 to 51 mph as it rotated on the Killard Road, which did not take into account any braking before that.

Judge Grant said Kirton claimed to police the road was covered in mud and tried to “disassociate” himself with the incident.

Judge Grant noted not guilty pleas had originally been entered in March last year when both defendants were charged with causing death by dangerous driving. However the pair were later rearraigned, with McManus pleading guilty and Kirton entering a plea to causing death by careless driving. The court also heard a set of facts were agreed after some were in dispute.

Judge Grant said any sentence he imposed could not bring back Mr Wilkinson, who he described as “this entirely innocent decent man,” or assuage the family’s grief.

“He was a good man, very clearly a good man,” he said. “It is clear that grief will remain acute for a very long time.”

Judge Grant noted the remorse of the defendants and said it was something they would also have to live with. He said he also accepted references describing Kirton as an “extremely good employee”.

“It is clear you both have good backgrounds,” he said. “You both have clear records. You have both expressed remorse.”

As well as the custodial sentences imposed each defendant received a seven-year driving ban.