Ciaran Cassidy (32) of Bruscarnagh Road pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, failing to stop at the scene of a damage-only accident, and failing to report a damage-only accident at Enniskillen Magistrates Court last Wednesday. 

At approximately 12.55am on September 12 police received a report of a man in a white van on Main Street, Roslea. They said the vehicle had collided with a car that had been parked near the local chemist. 

When officers arrived they found a red Toyota Avensis had been damaged, and no one was present on the street. They contacted the owner of the car, who told them it hadn’t been damaged when he parked it there.

The police then obtained CCTV footage from McDaid’s Chemist which showed the white Volkswagen van entering the junction at the main street, then doing handbrake turns, and driving off. 

When Cassidy was later questioned by police on the matter he made full admissions, including admitting to colliding with the parked car then driving away. 

District Judge Nigel Broderick said Cassidy was “a man of 32 who is married with three children, and he’s off rallying about doing handbrake turns.” 

Defence barrister Ciaran Roddy said the incident had been “a complete lack of judgement”  and “an act of foolishness” on Cassidy’s part, citing both the nature of his driving in a built-up area and the fact he drove off after colliding with the car. 

Mr Roddy said there had been no one else in the area of the Main Street when Cassidy had been driving. Judge Broderick replied by asking “how would he know if he was driving at speed” and stated the defendant had been oblivious to any possible pedestrians passing by. 

Having been told Cassidy was currently not working but drove diggers by trade, Judge Broderick said: “It beggars belief he has so much to lose and then does this.” 

The judge added Cassidy had “thrown his licence away by his actions and jeopardised his liberty”, which he said was “hard to fathom.” 

Judge Broderick disqualified Cassidy from driving for 15 months, until retested, and sentenced him to 120 hours community service.