Motorist had 'miraculous escape' after car rolled four times on M2 motorway
A court was told a motorist whose Kia car rolled four times on the M2 motorway near Antrim town had a "miraculous" escape from injury.
Details were given to Antrim Magistrates' Court, sitting in Ballymena, where another motorist admitted a charge of driving without due care and attention by "drifting" into another lane on the motorway causing the driver of the Kia to swerve.
The Kia then hit the central barrier before rolling over four times across the carriageway and ending up on a grass area.
Joel Moore (21), of The Cottages in Randalstown, pleaded guilty to charges of driving without due care and attention and failing to stop, remain and report a collision.
At 12.10pm on December 27 last year, police were tasked to a report of a car having "rolled" on the M2.
Officers found a Kia extensively damaged on the hard shoulder. The driver said she crashed because another car entered her lane forcing her to swerve.
When he watched dashcam of the incident and looked at photographs, District Judge Nigel Broderick said: "My goodness".
The court heard the defendant passed his test last June.
A defence solicitor said it was "extremely fortunate, perhaps miraculous in the circumstances, that no person sustained any injury".
The defendant was alone in his vehicle and he had been driving from Belfast to part-time work in the Dunsilly Hotel at Antrim town. He is a university student.
The judge asked why the defendant's vehicle was moving out into the other lane and the defence solicitor said the defendant "describes it as inattention and he apologises".
Looking at the charge sheet, Judge Broderick asked why the defendant did not stay at the scene and the defence solicitor said: "He stayed momentarily".
The lawyer said after other people had stopped and the defendant believed because the other driver had been uninjured he could continue on to his work and it had been "a lack of maturity".
Judge Broderick said: "It is relatively amazing that nobody was injured or God forbid fatally injured".
The judge said he was satisfied the defendant has now taken the matter very seriously.
Judge Broderick said it did not appear there was any "element of speed" with the defendant and he was told it was due to "inattention".
The judge told the defendant: "Why you drifted from the inside lane to the overtaking lane I am not entirely sure and it is but for the grace of God there was no significant injury".
Judge Broderick said he presumed the Kia was travelling in or around motorway speed "and the fact that it rolled onto its roof not once but two or three or four times there could easily have been a serious if not fatal accident".
The judge said it was "high end careless" driving. He said he took into account the clear record and guilty plea and banned the defendant from driving for two months and fined him £375.