Man gets driving ban after speeding on motorway to reach his dying grandmother
A motorist has been handed a ban for driving at over 100mph to his grandmother as she suffered a fatal heart attack.
Joseph Boyle, aged 28 and of Glenwood Street at the top of the Shankill Road in Belfast, was detected on the M2 motorway at 11am on January 20 last year.
A defence lawyer told Antrim Magistrates' Court, sitting in Ballymena, the defendant was told his grandmother “was having a heart attack” and when he arrived with her she was deceased.
District Judge Nigel Broderick told the defendant: “I have every sympathy for your personal bereavement. No doubt you were very concerned about your grandmother and she sadly passed away but unfortunately driving to her assistance or aid at 110mph what you were really doing was you were creating another dangerous situation.
“If you hit any other vehicle or God forbid a pedestrian or cyclist at that speed you would cause serious if not fatal injuries. So although you thought maybe you were doing the right thing but all you were really doing was you were creating another dangerous situation.”
If he had hit another person “the fact that you were rushing to your grandmother's aid would be no comfort to them. I will take into account the reason you were in the vehicle but unfortunately there must be a disqualification because the courts cannot condone anyone who drives at these speeds and there must be a level of deterrence”.
When the judge handed down his verdict on Tuesday last week, the defendant was banned from driving for six weeks and was fined £200.