Judge says boy (12) was lucky not to have been killed after being hit by vehicle which had gone through red light at pedestrian crossing in Antrim
A judge said a boy was lucky not to have been seriously hurt or killed after being hit when a motorist had gone through a red traffic light at a pedestrian crossing in Antrim.
District Judge Nigel Broderick was speaking at Antrim Magistrates Court in Ballymena where a man admitted charges of breaching a traffic signal and driving without due care and attention.
A prosecutor said at 2.30pm on Saturday January 3, a 12-year-old boy was crossing at traffic lights at Ballymena Road in Antrim when he was struck by a vehicle.
Dashcam from the vehicle being driven by the defendant was shown to the court. Judge Broderick noted there was snow on the ground and he said "Oh my goodness" whilst watching the footage.
The court was told the child sustained a cut to his face. The judge said the boy had been struck at a pedestrian crossing and was "fortunate not to sustain serious if not fatal injuries".
A defence solicitor said the boy was "extremely lucky". He said the dashcam footage was a "very difficult watch" but there was no suggestion of excess speed.
It had been a "momentary lapse" and the lights, near The Junction shopping complex, had "just turned red".
The solicitor said the boy "sprints across the road at the same time as the light has just turned red and in that split second this has happened where he (the defendant) had gone through the light that has just turned from amber to red."
The defendant, Geoff Aiken (63), of Raceview Road in Broughshane, had been driving for 46 years with no convictions. He has no points on his licence.
The solicitor handed in references which highlighted community and charity work carried out by the defendant, a former postman, who now works for a supermarket.
He said the defendant was "very shocked" and "horrified" by the accident and is now "much more cautious" when driving.
Judge Broderick said were it not for two factors the defendant would have been banned from driving.
One was that the the boy "didn't sustain any injuries that required medical treatment" and the defendant had been driving for 46 years "without any blemish on your licence".
He also took into account the guilty plea. The defendant was given nine penalty points and fined £400.