Woman, 25, admits charges over fatal Ballymena accident: Driver who left scene 'did not know man had died'

Sitting alongside her mother in the public gallery of Ballymena Magistrates’ Court, 25-year-old Zoe Wallace was charged with failing to remain and report following an accident which caused injury on August 28 2022.

Wallace, from Grange Drive in Ballymoney, admitted that “being the driver of a mechanically propelled vehicle and knowing that an accident had occurred … whereby injury was caused to a person other than yourself, failed to keep the said vehicle standing at or near the place where the accident occurred for such a period”.

The second count relates to Wallace failing to report the accident which tragically claimed the life of 57-year-old John Corr.

Defence counsel Thomas McKeever said she had instructed him to “extend her apologies to the family of the deceased,” highlighting that she had stayed at the scene for around 10 minutes before she left. “She was not aware there had been a fatality or she would have stayed,” the barrister submitted.

A prosecuting lawyer told the court it was just coming up to 10.20 that evening when police received a report that a pedestrian had been knocked down on the Cushendall Road in Ballymena.

Mr Corr was “sadly pronounced dead at the scene” and the lawyer said “he was believed to have been on the road and under the influence at the time”.

During an exchange with District Judge Nigel Broderick, the lawyer said it was agreed that given the time of the accident “it was getting to dusk” and also that Mr Corr was wearing dark clothing.

Wallace was not arrested until the following day after her mother contacted police to say that “she suspected her daughter had been involved in a fatal accident,” said the lawyer.

Her car was uncovered in the yard of a business in Ballymena and “there was damage to the front passenger side, bonnet and windscreen”.

“The defendant admitted that she had collided with the pedestrian,” the prosecutor told the court.

Judge Broderick asked whether the PPS had considered laying further charges against Wallace and the lawyer told him a senior directing officer within the PPS had considered other offences but had concluded that “the evidential test wasn’t met for other charges”.

During police interviews Wallace claimed that although she had been drinking alcohol on August 27, she had stopped at around 3am on the morning of the accident.

She further claimed that she did stop and saw the stricken Mr Corr lying on the roadway but other people were assisting him and not knowing what to do or that he had actually died “she panicked and left”.

Judge Broderick revealed that since her involvement in this incident, Wallace has convictions for being drunk in charge of a vehicle, dangerous driving, failing to stop and no insurance on April 15 and 16 2023, a further failing to stop, no insurance and driving while banned on July 3 2023.

“I think I’m going to get a [pre-sentence] report in this case,” he told Mr McKeever.

Adjourning the case to July 24, the judge told Wallace “these are serious offences and you have a relevant record”.