Co Armagh teenager ended up badly injured in hospital after driving his 'souped up' vehicle into a hedge near Portadown, Craigavon court hears
A teenager ended up badly injured and in hospital after he drove his ‘souped up’ vehicle into a hedge near Portadown, a court has heard.
Mazin Fadel, aged 18, from Kilmore Meadows, Armagh appeared before Craigavon Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
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He pleaded guilty to charges of careless driving, using a vehicle in a dangerous condition and having an incorrect form of registration.
On November 19 last year at around 10.10pm a Volkswagen Jetta had been travelling from Portadown towards Loughgall. Fadel, the driver, approached a "blind corner on a hill”.
"He then lost control of the vehicle and went into the off-side hedge. The defendant sustained injuries with paramedics brought to the scene,” a Prosecutor revealed, adding a passenger was also injured.
After the Jetta was seized, police carried out an examination into the vehicle noting “undeclared modifications”, reduced steering and handling capabilities.
Police also noted mismatched tyres of which the rear ones were “devoid of tread” exposing the inner carcass of the tyre. One tyre had a split to the tyre wall. The vehicle was also fitted with suspension springs which were lowered but they were incorrectly fitted. A diesel particle filter was also removed and the vehicle had been “remapped”.
Fadel’s solicitor said his client already has three live penalty points and he’s a new driver. He explained his client had bought the car three weeks before the incident and Fadel didn’t do any of the modifications to the vehicle and it had “come as some surprise to him”.
The solicitor said Fadel was aged 17 at the time of the incident and suffered a badly broken leg. “He was found laying down with a bone protruding from the leg. He was hospitalised for two and a half weeks and is still in the process of healing. Thankfully no one else was hurt,” he said, adding Fadel attended court with his father.
"Undoubtedly there’s been an uncomfortable conversation there in terms of the family unit. He comes from a family with strong support in place. He is due to start his university course later this month. He is studying IT at Queen’s,” said the lawyer.
He said Fadel is the only driver in his household and is responsible for taking his mother, who is ill, to hospital appointments and taking his sister to and from school. He will also need his licence to drive to his university courses.
"You are quite lucky. I know you were quite badly injured but it could have been worse,” said District Judge Michael Ranaghan. “That vehicle, whether you knew it or not, was in a dangerous condition.”
He said he would deal with it via a short disqualification given the impact it would have on his family and his education.
For careless driving and using a vehicle in a dangerous condition Fadel was given a seven day driving ban. He was also fined £100 on each of the three charges plus the £15 Offender Levy. He was given 26 weeks to pay.