Dromore man crashed his work van on the A1 near Banbridge after it 'aquaplaned, left the road, and collided with a fence', Craigavon court hears
A Dromore man has been banned from the roads and given a suspended prison sentence following an accident on the A1 near Banbridge.
Victor Gibson, 37, whose address was given as Meeting Street in Dromore, appeared before Craigavon Magistrates Court to face a number of charges, including aggravated vehicle taking causing damage, driving without due care and attention, failing to report a damage only accident, using a motor vehicle without insurance, and having no driving licence.
The court heard that on November 23, 2024 at 12.40pm, police received a report of a single-vehicle accident on the A1 near Banbridge.
On arrival, the police saw a van on the grass verge with damage to the front of the vehicle.
Damage had also been caused to a fence belonging to a business, as well as a Department for Infrastructure sign.
It was stated that no one was with the vehicle.
The police contacted the last registered owner of the vehicle, who confirmed it was a company van but that she was in Enniskillen and the driver would be the defendant.
She also told the police that as the van was being driven at the weekend it was not being used for business purposes, the defendant did not have permission to drive the van, and wouldn’t be covered by company insurance.
The police located the defendant, who confirmed he was the driver and his wife was a passenger.
He stated that the vehicle aquaplaned, left the road, and collided with the fence.
The police told him to remain where he was. However, he was not present when police arrived.
Police also noted that the defendant had been disqualified from driving until he resat his driving test, which he had not done and so he had no driving licence.
A defence lawyer told the court: “I have to accept at the outset that his man has a very poor record for driving but it is of some vintage.
"There is no excuse for offending on this occasion. He didn’t wait at the scene because his child was waiting to be collected.
"He insists that he has paid for the damage to be repaired.”
District Judge Michael Ranaghan imposed a custodial sentence of four months, suspended for 18 months. He also disqualified the defendant from driving for 18 months.