Child sat without seatbelt during long car journey

A MAN from Ballyward in Co Down claimed he drove a van all the way to Dromore (Co Tyrone) while a child was on a woman’s knee in the front passenger seat, after being told his uncle had fallen.

Mark Quinn (44) of Kilnhill Road admitted charges of carrying a child in the front seat without a seatbelt and failing to produce his licence as required.

At Omagh Magistrates Court, he was fined £150 and had three penalty points endorsed on his driving licence.

The court was told he was stopped on the Old Creamery, Road Dromore, on July 17 last year, and a woman in the front passenger seat had a six-year-old boy on her knee.

Defence solicitor, Cormac Murnion, said his client, who is a building site foreman, got a call during the lockdown that his uncle had fallen. Describing the facts as ’unusual’, he added that his uncle’s partner phoned Quinn’s wife and ‘begged’ him to come.

Mr Murnion added, “She couldn’t drive her vehicle as it wouldn’t start so they took the work van.

“It didn’t have enough seatbelts. It is not a situation they are usually in.

“He comes to court repentant. It was a flash-of-the-moment decision. He was in terror that the elderly man was lying on the ground, and it is not a decision he would usually make. He drove a long distance expecting to deal with a family emergency.”

Imposing the fine and penalty points, District Judge Peter Prenter gave Quinn credit for admitting the offences, and his previous clear record.