Enniskillen Court House, RMGFH04
A 29-YEAR-OLD Enniskillen mechanic who crashed his car into a tree was driving a vehicle that was not fit for the road.
Mark Griffin, of Willoughby Court was convicted of using a motor vehicle in a dangerous condition and for making a false declaration to obtain a certificate of insurance and fined a total of £400 at Enniskillen Magistrates Court.
The prosecutor outlined that on April 6, 2015 at 12.30pm emergency services were called to a one vehicle road crash on the Gardrum Road, Letterbreen.
The vehicle, a silver Subaru Impreza had crashed into a tree.
There were two people in the vehicle, the driver, the defendant and a female passenger.
Ambulance service, police and Fire Brigade were at the scene at what was a serious crash, Griffin having to be cut out of the vehicle.
Both passengers in the vehicle were taken to the South West Acute Hospital, with the defendant quite seriously injured. On the day the female had left her car with Griffin to be fixed and he was bringing her home when the accident occurred.
The defendant was interviewed on July 22 initially in relation to a charge of no insurance on the date of the collision. He told police he couldn’t remember the crash.
Police then questioned Griffin over the condition of his vehicle. Police examination uncovered certain defects in the car, which meant it was not roadworthy.
The rear off-side brake disk was rusted, a rear tyre was not fitted correctly and both front drive shafts had been removed, meaning the vehicle as a result was more powerful from the rear.
The examining officer deemed it unroadworthy and dangerous to drive.
The defendant told police he had bought the vehicle a few months before the crash and was hoping to do the car up.
He said he did not realise there were problems with it.
In regards to the insurance offence Griffin had not been covered as he had failed to disclose previous motoring convictions to police.
Defence barrister Ciaran Roddy noted the serious injuries suffered by his client in the collision.
Griffin suffered a cracked hip, broken foot and broken collarbone as a result. Mr Roddy said the dangerous condition of the vehicle was “not overtly obvious”. He explained that the defendant bought it in January 2015, but not had driven it until the day of the crash.
District judge Nigel Broderick asked why the defendant crashed and the defence stated that Griffin could not remember the incident.
He further noted a statement from the female passenger who said the defendant was “driving with manners” at around 30 to 40mph.
The barrister called the crash a “spontaneous occurrence” and said the issue was with the car and not the driver.
The district judge said it was lucky neither were killed in the crash.
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