Killer motorist crashed driving without lights at night
A CO Antrim man who killed two women in a road collision in the Republic 12 years ago has admitted a charge of dangerous driving arising from an incident last month.
Paul Patrick Duffy, of Hillside Drive, Dunloy, collided with another vehicle as he drove without lights after midnight.
He appeared in the dock at Coleraine Magistrates Court yesterday and pleaded guilty to charges of dangerous driving at Bridge Road, Dunloy, failing to remain at the scene of an accident, and failing to report an accident.
He also admitted failing to give a preliminary sample of breath and later failing to provide one at Coleraine police station.
A prosecutor told the court the defendant had a relevant record over the border.
In 2005 Duffy was an unaccompanied learner driver when he killed a mother-of-eight and her aunt while overtaking near Castlebar in Co Mayo.
He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the deaths of the two women the following year.
He was given a suspended jail term and was banned from behind the wheel.
Yesterday a prosecutor said at 12.05am on September 4 a woman was driving on Bellaghy Road, Dunloy, when she approached roadworks. With the path clear she proceeded, but then spotted a vehicle approaching with its lights off.
She was forced to pull in and the other vehicle collided with the offside of her’s.
When the car did not stop she turned round and followed it, and saw it cross a T-junction, mount a kerb and collide with a fence.
The prosecutor said the woman reported the matter to police.
When officers arrived Duffy refused to give a breath sample at the scene or in Coleraine, but admitted having “one or two drinks in the pub”.
Duffy told police he couldn’t give samples due to “asthma”.
The prosecutor said the defendant told police the lights on his vehicle came on automatically, and he believed they were on at the time.
District Judge Peter King said he wanted a pre-sentence report, and adjourned the case until the end of October.
Guilty plea: Paul Duffy