Families weep in court as teenager denies killing friends in Co Down crash

The families of two Co Down teenagers wept in court on Tuesday as their friend denied killing them by careless driving.
By The Newsroom
Published 13th Dec 2016, 16:50 BST
Updated 14th Dec 2016, 10:54 BST
The scene after the fatal crash in Rostrevor in September 2015The scene after the fatal crash in Rostrevor in September 2015
The scene after the fatal crash in Rostrevor in September 2015

Relatives of Eoin Farrell and James Miskelly packed the public gallery at Newry Crown Court as 18-year-old Brian Che Kane walked to the dock.

Many of them cried in sorrow as Kane, from St. Anne’s Park in Mayobridge, denied causing the deaths of 17-year-olds Eoin and James by driving carelessly on the Kilbroney Road in Rostrevor on September 14 last year.

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The charges arise after the car Kane was driving hit the wall of a bungalow - understood to be the home of one of the victims’ grandparents - causing a nearby oil tank to catch fire.

Tragically his friends sustained injuries which proved fatal while Kane himself was also seriously hurt in the early morning impact.

Following the not guilty pleas, Kane’s defence barrister told the court his client has no memory of the accident and that they are awaiting an engineers report so cannot take the matter any further until furnished with that report.

Releasing Kane on continuing bail until the New Year, Judge Melody McReynolds offered the “sincerest condolences of the court” to the victims’ families.