Men ‘feared terrorists were chasing them’ in early morning chase

Men ‘feared terrorists were chasing them’ in early morning chase

23 October 2019

FIVE young men believed that they were being pursued by paramilitaries when the car they were travelling in was rammed several times at speed, a local court has heard.

Paul Killen (41), of Bucks Head Road, Loughinisland, who denies charges of dangerous driving, assault, failing to stop at the scene of an accident, failing to remain and failing to report the incident, admitted pursuing the vehicle containing the young men, but denies colliding with their vehicle at any time.

The lengthy contested hearing was part heard at Downpatrick Court last Thursday and is listed tomorrow to fix a date for the continuation of the case. 

It was claimed last week that Killen and two associates — who were driving other vehicles — pursued the driver and his four friends for over an hour around 2am on December 29 last year.

The court heard that the young men in the first car were from the Loughinisland and Drumaness areas and were in “fear of their lives” as they believed that they were being pursued by paramilitaries. 

It was alleged that the incident began as the car containing the five young men drove onto the Loughinisland Road from a school car park in the village and ended at Downpatrick police station when their car drove through a security barrier at the station’s Ballyhornan Road entrance.

Giving evidence, the driver said that as he drove along the Drumcullan Road, passing Ballydugan Mill, two cars following him were travelling at an estimated speed of between 50mph and 60mph. The driver claimed that the car directly behind him had his full beam on.

He said that he was forced to drive straight across the Ballydugan Road junction without slowing down, in order to prevent his vehicle from being rammed by the car behind. 

The driver said a third car then appeared and attempted to block his access to the Bonecastle Road while the vehicle directly behind him, pulled out in front of him.

The witness said he was still able to make his way to the Vianstown Road, with the three cars following him, forcing him to drive through a red light at the Stream Street junction at Collins’ Corner.

He told the court that one of his friends sitting in the back of his car telephoned police for help and they decided to make their way to the PSNI station’s staff entrance at the Ballyhornan Road.

The driver said that at this stage, the cars behind stopped following him when his vehicle crashed into a security barrier at the station, smashing his windscreen.

He told the court that he thought he was “going to be killed” and “someone was looking to hurt us for no reason,” adding: “I am still in fear. I thought I was going to die.”

Another witness travelling in the back of the car being pursued said the vehicle behind had “bumped into them numerous times”.

He continued: “We thought we were going to end up in the ditch. We drove past the racecourse and down past the cinema and over speed bumps, breaking a red light. We didn’t know why the car was chasing us. I thought I was going to die.”

Another witness who was in the car told the court that they were followed by two vehicles from Brennan’s filling station in Seaforde. He said he knew it wasn’t the police and was terrified when a Ford Ka attempted to block their path.

He continued: “The impact of the collisions was limited as we were going at the same speed as the car behind.”

The witness said he believed that the driver of the car behind them was “reckless and intent on killing them all.” 

A fifth witness told the court their car was rammed” five or six times” during the ordeal and he had been “feeling suicidal” since the incident. He told the court he now suffers from paranoia and believed “someone was going to kill him”.

A defence lawyer told the court that Killen reported to police that a number of men in a dark coloured Peugeot had been “prowling” around his farm by torchlight shortly before the incident occurred. 

The case continues.