Drunk driver fled after crashing into family

Editorial Department • Published 26 Jan 2012 13:00

A drunken driver who crashed into family of four and fled the scene without notifying police escaped punishment for the offence when he appeared at Fermanagh Court.

Jason Laurence David Trotter, of Gola Road, Lisbellaw, insisted he wasn't driving when his Volkswagen Passat smashed into a Toyota Avensis carrying two adults and two children, aged one and three.

Even when the 34-year-old's DNA was found on his vehicle's air bag he continued to deny involvement, claiming it was from a nose bleed that had occurred sometime previously.

It was only when the car's manufacturer confirmed that the air bag was a sealed unit and the blood could not have got there without it being activated in a crash did Trotter finally admit driving carelessly after consuming excess alcohol.

He was fined £400 and banned from driving for 12 months.

He also admitted failing to notify the police about the crash and was given a conditional discharge for a year, meaning no penalty will be imposed on him unless he commits a further offence within the next 12 months.

A prosecutor told the court that at approximately 6pm on June 11, last year, a Toyota Avensis carrying a family of four was approaching the Killyshambally junction of Main Street, Maguiresbridge, with the main A4 Enniskillen to Belfast road when Trotter's Passat left the A4 and crashed into the driver's side of the Avensis. Trotter pushed his vehicle on to the hard shoulder and walked off, leaving the family of four in their badly damaged Avensis. The car's air bags had deployed and the two parents and their young children were shocked and distressed. They were attended by ambulance crew.

The prosecutor said Trotter was seen making a mobile phone call and a few minutes later a silver Ford Mondeo arrived and took him away. About 30 minutes later police found the silver Mondeo parked outside a house in an isolated location. Trotter was there and failed a preliminary breath test. An evidential sample produced an alcohol reading of 58 - 23 in excess of the legal limit. When interviewed he claimed he had been at home all day, had not driven the car and had not been involved in any crash. A sample of blood found on the deployed air bag of the Passat was sent for forensic analysis and found to be a DNA match to Trotter. He was again interviewed by the police and attributed the blood on the air bag to a previous nose bleed. However, Volkswagen said the air bag was a sealed unit and could not have been stained with blood in the way described by Trotter.

Defence solicitor, Mr. Michael Fahy, said alcohol had certainly been consumed because Trotter told police he had a drink after the incident. The case was aggravated by the fact that he left the scene but "thankfully this was a minor collision".

Mr. Fahy said Trotter lived in a rural area and the loss of his licence would be a huge inconvenience to him but he accepted he was the author of his own misfortune in taking the decision to drive after he had been drinking.

The court heard that Trotter had a previous conviction for drinking and driving in July 2001, which meant this was his second within 10 years and would have attracted a three-year driving ban. However, Deputy District Judge Terence Dunlop accepted a submission from Mr. Fahy that the conviction in July 2001 was for an offence in October 2000 and was therefore outside the 10-year period, leaving Trotter with a 12-month driving ban.

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This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 26 Jan 12

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