A DRIVER who was using his mobile phone when he struck a telegraph pole which then caused fatal injuries to a pensioner has been warned to prepare for a jail sentence.
Edward Devlin (21) pleaded guilty to causing the death of Ian Leonard Bailie by driving dangerously on the Old Ballynahinch Road on the outskirts of Lisburn on October 28 2014.
Prosecuting lawyer Nicola Auret told Craigavon Crown Court that a Skoda Octavia car had been waiting to overtake a tractor and slurry tanker when Devlin, driving a works VW Caddy van, mounted the grass verge to avoid colliding with the car and struck a telegraph pole.
Mr Bailie (66) had been standing at his gateway on the other side of the pole and it struck him.
He was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital but died from his injuries three weeks later on November 19.
Ms Auret said witnesses described seeing Devlin getting out of his van to help Mr Bailie but that "he had a mobile phone in his hand which he discarded".
A report by a forensic engineer said it was a relatively straight section of road and Devlin would have had sight of the car and tractor for around 300 metres and approximately 13 seconds as he approached at around 2.15pm.
There was no evidence of excess speed, said Ms Auret, established through a GPRS device installed on the van, which belonged to WAC McCandless.
However, Devlin's mobile phone was found to have been used to send a text message and for web browsing during his journey.
Devlin, an apprentice plant mechanic from Leitrim Road, Hilltown, Co Down, initially denied using the phone but when the evidence was put to him, he admitted he had sent a text as he left Belfast in slow-moving traffic.
He also confessed that up until the time of the collision, he had been browsing classified ads site Gumtree "to look at lists of cars".
"That was the reason he didn't see the Skoda stopped behind the slurry tanker," said Ms Auret, with Devlin saying he took evasive action on the grass verge "on seeing children in that car".
She also revealed that he has two previous convictions for careless driving, committed within the space of a week in March 2013.
Ms Auret said Mr Bailie and his wife, of Back Road, had been "looking forward to retirement together but tragically that position has been forever changed".
A defence lawyer said Devlin acknowledged the "severe hurt and heartbreak" caused to Mrs Bailie, and he has "found it difficult to come to terms with the fact that he caused someone's death, it's something that he will never forget".
Judge Patrick Lynch released him on bail until he passes sentence next Tuesday, saying he "should be prepared for an immediate custodial sentence".
