Woman crossing main road clipped by car
AN elderly woman who parked her car across the road from Dromard Post Office was subsequently stuck by the wing mirror of an oncoming car as she walked along the road, breaking her right ankle and leg. Before the court charged with dangerous driving which was later reduced was Charles Mitchell, 61, of Beltra, Coolaney. The court heard on December 31st 2015 at Dromard, Skreen, Maura Keaney was crossing the road to the Post Office at 11:30am. As she did so, she was clipped by the wing mirror of a car. Emergency services were called and she suffered a broken ankle and right leg as a result of the collision. Inspector Paul Kilcoyne said she was walking along the water table when she was hit by the vehicle from behind.
He said the defendant in his statement said he was driving along the road when somebody walked out without looking left or right and he swerved onto the other side to try and avoid them. Defending solicitor Mr Fergal Kelly said if the injured party was walking on the water table the point of impact would not have been where it was. He said the point of impact was near the centreline of the road.
The judge asked why did the driver not see her and he replied that it was a very busy road along the Sligo-Ballina route, it was a narrow road and there were no footpaths. He said the defendant did see the woman but it was late. The judge asked if there was a problem with his eyesight. Mr Kelly replied that it was a very wet morning and his client tried his best to avoid the woman, going across the road to the other side when the wing mirror clipped her.
The judge described the injured party as a woman in advance years. He said: “It’s a puzzle. If he has a problem with his eyesight, he needs to sort it. The road has a broken centre white line which means visibility is reasonable. He should have seen her beforehand.”
Mr Kelly said the road in question was extremely dangerous and it’s too narrow for the purpose of pedestrians walking along it.
The defendant was described as a farmer with no previous conviction. He had paid full compensation to the victim.
Judge Kilrane reduced the dangerous driving charge and fined him €300.