A company director, who crashed a hire car, was fined for no insurance and banned from driving, after the car hire company voided his insurance policy.
Mark Gill, 37, of Annagh, Clonmany, was charged with no insurance and failing to produce his insurance following a single vehicle collision at Carrickafoden, Carn, on December 14, 2015.
Mr. Gill was also charged with leaving the scene of an accident and failing to report the accident before Carn Court last Tuesday week.
However, Judge Paul Kelly dismissed these charges after the court heard that Gill contacted the car hire company and moved the car just 50 yards from the scene of the original collision.
The Clonmany man was not present, however the case proceeded in his absence, with his solicitor contesting the charges.
Garda Paul Lyons told the court gardaí received a report that a vehicle collided with a ditch and a telegraph pole at Carrickafoden, Carn on December 14, 2015, at 2am. He said they were told that wires from the telegraph pole were hanging low on the road.
Gda. Lyons said they went to the scene and found the telegraph pole broken in half. He said the wires had been tied back into the ditch at that stage. He also found the suspected vehicle involved 50 yards away at the side of the road.
‘I saw a black Mercedes Benz about 50 yards down the road, parked on a private lane,” said Gda. Lyons.
“It was missing a wheel – this indicated it was quite a violent collision. There was extensive damage to the front passenger side of the vehicle, but we were unable to locate anyone from the vehicle. We removed it from the scene at 4.20am.”
Gda. Lyons said he carried out enquiries and learned that the vehicle was a hire vehicle from a Budget Car Hire in Belfast. He said he contacted Mark Hill on December 23 and asked him to make a statement about the road traffic collision.
“He told me his mother was in hospital but he would attend the garda station after he visited her, but he failed to appear at the station.
“On January 11, 2016, I spoke with Mr. Gill again and asked him to come to the station but he said he was in England working and wouldn’t return until January 22. I asked him to produce his insurance on this date. When I contacted him again on January 22, I couldn’t get an answer. I contacted him several times over that weekend but he didn’t answer.”
Hannah Carlin, Manager of Budget Avis Car Hire in Belfast told the court that Mr. Gill contacted her company to tell her about the accident.
She said Mr. Gill hired the car, a black Mercedes Benz A Class, from Belfast Airport on December 10.
“He said he was driving the car and was in an accident. He said he didn’t know what happened but that he hit a telegraph pole. He said there was a passenger who was badly hurt but at the end of the conversation he stated that there may not have been a passenger on with him after all,” explained Ms. Carlin.
“He didn’t make a huge amount of sense. He said he was back at work in England. I told him the vehicle was not to be taken out of Northern Ireland. He told me he was living in Strabane and would come back to me with an address. I tried to contact him by phone again but to no avail.”
Defence solicitor Ciaran MacLochlainn asked Ms. Carlin if his client, Mr. Gill, was insured when he left Belfast. She told the court he had purchases collision damage and theft protection waiver from them but that this only covered him within Northern Ireland.
“He invalidated the terms of the rental agreement by taking the car out of Northern Ireland. Cross Border travel is subject to an extra fee and you must get permission,” Ms. Carlin told the court.
“If he had the accident in Northern Ireland he would have been covered but he invalidated that.”
Mr. MacLochlainn argued that there was no evidence that his client was driving the car. He also said that 50 yards down the road did not count for leaving the scene, adding that he contacted the hire company the following day.
Garda Inspector David Murphy said he believed if the car had not lost a wheel in the collision Mr. Gill ‘wouldn’t have been seen for dust’.
He said the Clonmany man was continually evasive and ‘never made himself available’ for Gardaí.
“Everyone knows when you are involved in a road traffic collision there is an onus on you to report it to gardaí,” said Insp. Murphy.
“Every opportunity was given to him to speak with gardaí but Garda Lyons was met with a lack of co-operation every time.”
Judge Paul Kelly said he believed there was ‘overwhelming circumstantial evidence’
that unmistakingly gives rise to the conclusion that Mr. Gill was driving the vehicle.
“He had a conversation with Ms. Carlin about the collision, he had an opportunity to give evidence and refute what she says but he’s not here,” said Judge Kelly.
Judge Kelly said he would dismiss the failing to remain at the scene as the car was only 50 yards away and the failing to report the accident charge.
“He did contact the hire company the following day, although not in an entirely satisfactory way, but I will dismiss that charge – that just leaves the no insurance charge.”
Mr. MacLochlainn argued that this insurance policy was not voided when his client crossed the border, however Judge Kelly disagreed.
“I disagree entirely. I’m satisfied that the charge has been proven based on Ms. Carlin’s evidence,” he added.
Insp. Murphy then told the court that Mr. Gill had previous convictions for having no licence, no insurance and no tax in 2008 and more for having no insurance displayed and no tax in 2011.
Mr. MacLochlainn said he was told that his client, who is a company director of a plant hire business in Scotland with two children, had no previous convictions.
Judge Kelly fined Gill €500 and banned him from driving for two years given that his last conviction for no insurance was nine years ago.
Normally a second no insurance conviction is an automatic four year driving ban, however if the previous conviction is more than three years ago a Judge has discretion to reduce the length of the ban.