Man pleads guilty to causing the death of pensioner (81) through careless driving
A LISBURN man yesterday admitted causing the death by careless driving of west Belfast pensioner George Mccaul.
Mr Mccaul, who was 81 and from Twinbook, died after being struck by a car at Kingsway on the Upper Lisburn Road area of Dunmurry in October 2018.
He had been pushing a fouryear-old child in a buggy when the collision occurred. Whilst the child sustained minor injuries, Mr Mccaul passed away in hospital the following month.
Robert Thomas Devenney, from Front Road in Lisburn, appeared remotely at Belfast Crown Court yesterday via videolink from his solicitor’s office.
After confirming he could hear the court clerk, two charges were then put to the 39-year-old.
When a charge of causing Mr Mccaul’s death by dangerous driving on October 21, 2018 was put to Devenney, he replied: “Not guilty to dangerous, guilty to careless causing death, Your Honour.”
He entered a “not guilty” plea to a second charge of driving dangerously on roads including the M1 motorway in Belfast and Blacks Road, Belfast.
Defence barrister Niall Hunt said that following Devenney’s plea to a charge of causing death by careless driving — as opposed to dangerous driving — he anticipated discussions within the prosecution and will “await further developments in that regard”.
Following Devenney’s pleas, Judge Stephen Fowler QC said the case should be reviewed in two weeks’ time, and re-listed it for September 1.