A Co Antrim man caused the deaths of a retired couple in a car crash after he allegedly ran a red light, a jury has heard.
Craigavon Crown Court jury also heard claims that in the aftermath of the accident, 58-year-old Andrew McGarrity destroyed the SD memory card of his dash cam, allegedly “smashing the card into pieces” before hurling the camera itself into the bushes.
McGarrity, from Loughview, Gawley’s Gate in Aghagallon, denies causing the deaths of John and Sylvia McKee by driving carelessly on Northway in Portadown.
The couple sustained fatal injuries when their black Peugeot 108 and McGarrity’s silver Honda Accord were in collision on August 4 2019.
Opening the Crown case on Monday, prosecuting KC Philip Mateer told the jury that Mrs McKee (72) died at the scene while her husband of 35 years John (74), succumbed to his injuries just over a week later.
He described how the accident happened at the junction of Northway and the Seago Road with McGarrity heading towards Portadown and the McKees trying to turn right on to Seago Road.
He told the jury that according to witnesses at the scene, Mr McKee began his manoeuvre when there was a filter light allowing him to turn right.
Explaining that an expert engineer had studied the scene and the pattern of the lights, it followed that if Mr McKee had a green light, that “dictated” that McGarrity’s approach would have had a red light.
Mr Mateer further contended that the expert had observed there was “at least five seconds” between McGarrity’s light turning red and Mr McKee getting a green light.
He put to the jury that while every driver had “faced a dilemma of braking hard” to meet a red light approaching a junction where the lights had just changed, in the case against McGarrity he had been approaching a “firm red light” and he would have had ample opportunity to stop.
Revealing that in the immediate aftermath McGarrity had asked officers whether the traffic lights had cameras, the senior barrister further contended that after the defendant “realised what he had done he destroyed the dash cam to prevent the police from looking at the footage".
During police interviews McGarrity claimed and maintained that approaching the junction his light had been green and when he saw the black Peugeot in front of him, he “stood on the brakes” but couldn’t avoid a collision.
Asked what he believed was he cause of the accident, McGarrity told police “it was their fault - they pulled out in front of me.”
The trial, set to last into early next week, continues.