Man admits causing 70-year-old pedestrian's death

Paul Marshall, 70, died a week after being hit by a van at the the Millfield junction area of Belfast

A man has admitted causing the death of a 70-year-old pedestrian who died a week after being struck by a van in west Belfast.

John Taggart, 36, was driving in the Millfield junction when he hit Paul Marshall last September.

Mr Marshall was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital after the incident and died a week later.

Taggart, who also pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol, is due to be sentenced in January.

He had previously denied the charges against him but changed his plea during a re-arraignment at Belfast Crown Court on Thursday.

As a result of his pleas, a charge of causing the death of Mr Marshall by driving without due care and attention and consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in his breath exceeded the prescribed limited, was left on the books.

Although details of the fatal collision were not discussed at the re-arraignment, Taggart's barrister had previously told the court he had claimed "there was another vehicle that carried out a manoeuvre in front of the defendant" which he swerved to avoid.

The barrister added that "no blame at all" was being attributed to Mr Marshall.

Taggart claimed that on the day in question he was sipping from a bottle of juice which he had taken from his home and which he was unaware contained alcohol.

Judge Gordon Kerr KC ordered a pre-sentence report and listed the case for sentencing on 15 January.