Northern Ireland

Killer driver avoids jail over death of Co Down pensioner

Matthew McKee leaving Downpatrick crown court.
Matthew McKee leaving Downpatrick crown court. Matthew McKee leaving Downpatrick crown court.

A RESTRICTED driver who knocked down and killed a retired teacher walked free from court after his jail sentence was suspended.

Judge Geoffrey Millar QC told 20-year-old Co Down man Matthew McKee it was clear that by driving at between 38-42 mph through Newcastle town centre, he was “driving too quickly for the prevailing conditions.”

The Downpatrick Crown Court judge also told McKee if he had been adhering to the 30mph speed limit then the collision that killed 78-year-old Geoffrey Cartwrght "would not have occurred.”

As well as suspending his ten month jail term for two years, McKee was also banned from driving for 18 months.

“A simple moment of inattention can lead to catastrophic results and even life ending consequences,” declared the judge adding that the death of Mr Cartwright should serve as a warning to everyone who drives, “myself included...that a car can be an instrument of death and destruction if one allows it and the consequences for drivers, passengers and other road users, as in this case, can be devastating.”

At an earlier hearing McKee, from Meadowlands Avenue in Kilkeel, pleaded guilty to causing the death of Mr Cartwright by driving carelessly on South Promenade in Newcastle on 24 August 2017.

Opening the Crown case for the first time yesterday, prosecuting QC Richard Weir outlined how the 78-year-old widower, a retired teacher, and father of six, had been in Mackins Bar with his brother Reginald when the pair left at around 10.30pm.

Mr Weir told the court the brothers crossed the road directly in front of the bar with Reginald reporting that apart from a set of headlights in the distance, he felt the road was clear.

He managed to get to the other side but having taken a few steps, “he hears a thud behind him” and turned to see “his unfortunate brother lying in his side, facing the wall” after being struck by the car.

Members of the RNLI crew had been in the bar and along with an off duty nurse. They tended Mr Cartwright who was rushed to the Royal Victoria Hospital but he later died from his injuries.

At the scene McKee “was visibly distressed,” said the lawyer adding that the 'R' driver had only passed his driving test two months beforehand.

Experts concluded that McKee had been travelling between 38-42 mph in the lead up to the accident, where the limit was 30mph.

The senior lawyer said while the report also highlighted that a parked van “obscured the drivers view of matters....that doesn’t exempt the accused.”

“Speed is at the heart of the collision here,” declared Mr Weir adding that “one had to factor in also that this was a young and inexperienced driver.”

Defence QC Patrick Lyttle said the “thrust of my plea is that a custodial sentence is not required in this case,” given McKee’s guilty plea, his clear record, the lack of aggravating factors, his insight into the consequences for the Cartwright family and his “genuine and heartfelt remorse for causing them such pain.”

Describing digger driver McKee as a “decent, hard working young man” from a respectable family, he submitted that but for this tragedy, he would not find himself in the dock.