Enniskillen Court House RMG10
AN Enniskillen driver crashed his car after dropping his lighter while trying to light a cigarette on a slippery, narrow road, a court has heard.
Cyril Johnston (61) of Johnston’s Bakery, Townhall Street appeared at Enniskillen Magistrates Court on Monday where he pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention.
The court heard that on December 4 last year police were called to the scene of a road traffic accident on the Drumcose Road near Enniskillen.
When they arrived the airbags of the car were deployed and they found Johnston at the back of the car.
While the officers noted at the time Johnston’s speech was slurred and slow, it was later determined this was a result of concussion. Trace amounts of prescription drugs were found Johnston’s system following a blood test at hospital.
When later interviewed, Johnston told police the road had been slippery and he’d hit a verge. He told them he’d been trying to light a cigarette at the time and had dropped his lighter before the accident.
In court on Monday, Johnston, who was not legally represented, told Judge Peter King the road had been slippery and narrow.
There was some confusion in the court when Johnston was asked to hand in his licence. He said he’d “lost it”, which Judge King initially thought meant he had been disqualified from driving.
However, upon examining Johnston’s record, which had only one entry for speeding in 1989, it was realised the defendant, who believed he would had been disqualified for careless driving, simply needed to apply for a new licence.
Judge King explained to Johnston he was not going to be disqualified, and would be given three penalty points and a £200 fine, but that he could not impose the sentence until he provided a driving licence to the court.
The case was adjourned for four weeks.
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