A Co Down woman who admitted causing the death of a motorcyclist by careless driving was using her mobile phone “entirely contemporaneously” when she pulled out in front of him, a court has heard.
Newry Crown Court also heard Matthew Arnold (24), had been married for 18 months and just become a father three weeks before the fatal collision.
Prosecuting counsel Fiona O’Kane highlighted how his family “were and remain devastated by the loss of a young man, who was a loving father, husband, son and brother".
Defence counsel Steven Molloy told the court Monica McAlister “has spent her life in the NHS trying to save lives and she recognises fully that solely by her actions, this man has lost his life" adding she was "deeply sorry for her actions".
McAlister (53), from Ballykilbeg Road, Downpatrick, had earlier entered a guilty plea to causing the death of Mr Arnold on 7 April 2020 by driving carelessly.
Today's top stories :
- 'She was my life. I don't know how to face my children now' - Belfast-born Palestinian makes appeal after wife is killed in Gaza
- Armagh GAA man Patrick Grimley, who died following a four-car collision, to be buried in his home village on Wednesday
- Prayers for Co Armagh teenager Dylan Vallely injured in road crash
Opening the facts of the case, Mrs O’Kane outlined how the fatal accident occurred at the junction of Lurgan Road and Blackskull Road in Dromore when the Toyota Avensis being driven by McAllister pulled out from a junction into the path of the oncoming Ducati motorbike of Mr Arnold.
He was thrown from the bike and despite an off-duty GP and members of the public coming to his aid, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
McAlister was arrested and her dashcam footage formed part of the case against her.
It established she had slowed down to two or three mph as she approached the giveway junction and she told police she had seen the Ducati and believing she had enough time, pulled out.
Neither McAlister nor Mr Arnold were under the influence of alcohol or drugs, but the police investigation established McAllister had been using her mobile phone before the crash.
The time of the collision was at 6.17pm and Mrs O’Kane told the court there was evidence McAlister had been on a phone call for 56 seconds having received a call at 6.15pm, “entirely contemporaneously with the collision, we say".
There was also evidence Mr Arnold had been speeding and although an expert forensic engineer could not put forward a more accurate assessment than between 64-91mph, using footage from a nearby haulage yard, the Ducati was seen at 70mph.
During police interviews, McAlister said as assistant director of old peoples services in the Southern Health Trust, the phone call was from a colleague as she was trying to organise PPE for trust care homes and district nurses.
She said she had “wedged” her phone into the dashboard and she swiped to answer before opening the speaker function and put her hand back on the wheel.
Lodging a plea in mitigation, Steven Molloy highlighted the north was in the first lockdown of the Covid-19 pandemic and as part of her role, McAlister was “managing a range of care homes".
Having tried to contact a colleague she put the phone in the dash as she expected them to call back and then began to drive.
But Judge Gordon Kerr KC said while he accepted that entirely, “in one sense it reinforces the fact that she was preparing deliberately, in advance, to deal with a business matter at a time when she was driving and unfortunately, it came when she had to do a difficult manoeuvre".
Freeing McAlister on bail, Judge Kerr said he wanted to consider all of the materials put before him before giving his ruling.