Bus driver admits killing woman in Lisburn station incident

A bus driver has changed his plea in the case of a woman who died almost three-and-a-half years ago at a Lisburn bus station.

By The Newsroom

Published 21st May 2018, 19:50 BST

Updated 8th Jun 2018, 08:39 BST

The victim, a woman aged 48, died after being knocked down at Lisburn’s Smithfield Street bus station just before 10.30am, two days before New Year’s Eve in 2014.

On April 25 2017, bus driver James Johnston had pleaded not guilty to her unlawful killing. However, on Monday he asked to be rearraigned and pleaded guilty to the offence.

Mr Johnston – of Killowen Grange in north-west Lisburn, and now aged 35 – will be brought back to court at a later date for sentencing.

The funeral for the victim, listed on court papers as Charlotte Linda Stewart, was at St Anne’s Church, Dungannon, on New Year’s Day 2015.

The mother of four was described by Church of Ireland Archdeacon Forster as a “gentle, compassionate and loving person”.

Lisburn