Man’s driving led to four-car collision near Omagh, court told

A SIXMILECROSS man who caused a four-car collision on the A5 has been given penalty points.

At Omagh Magistrates Court on Tuesday, 55-year-old Paul McCarroll, of Lisnarable Road, pleaded guilty to careless driving.

The court was told that around 7.30am on November 4, police were alerted to a four-vehicle collision on the Doogary Road outside Omagh.

Two cars were travelling towards Ballygawley, one in the overtaking lane passing the other. On the opposite side of the road, a lorry was parked for roadworks and a third car, driven by McCarroll, overtook the lorry.

This manoeuvre brought McCarroll into the path of the oncoming overtaking car, causing a collision. That car then struck the vehicle it had been overtaking, with a fourth car also becoming involved.

In a later interview, McCarroll told police he believed it was safe to overtake as two other cars had pulled out before him, but admitted it was ‘dark and drizzly’ that morning.

The court heard there was no suggestion of speeding, and that the investigating officer had initially sought to deal with the matter through a driver improvement scheme rather than prosecution, but this did not proceed. Defence solicitor Michael Fahy said the factory worker had been driving for 17 years with no previous convictions or penalty points, and had entered an early guilty plea.

District Judge Ted Magill gave McCarroll credit for his plea and noted that, thanks to his insurance, none of the other parties were left out of pocket.

McCarroll was handed five penalty points and fined £250.