Downpatrick: Pensioner jailed for causing death of cyclist

Aidan Fitzpatrick, 59, worked for the Equality Commission and was described as "a true gentleman"

A County Down pensioner who drove his car into two cyclists, killing one and seriously injuring the other, has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Arthur Robert McGrillen was told he will spend a further 30 months on supervised licence following his release from custody.

The collision happened on the Killyleagh Road in Downpatrick in 2019.

The 74-year-old appeared at Downpatrick Crown Court, sitting in Belfast, via video-link from Maghaberry prison.

McGrillen, of Catherine Street, Killyleagh, "ploughed into" 59-year-old Aidan Fitzpatrick, on Sunday, October 20 2019, causing "unbearable pain for his widow and family," said Judge Geoffrey Miller KC.

The pensioner also drove his black Mercedes C-Class into Ralph Mills, leaving him in "constant pain, with survivor's guilt and a joyless outlook on life''.

Both victims were taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast where Mr Fitzpatrick later died.

Prosecution counsel Ciaran Murphy KC said McGrillen "drove through the cyclists without making any attempt to avoid them".

The first police officer on the scene spoke to McGrillen, and when he asked what had happened, the defendant replied: "I didn't see them."

McGrillen later claimed the cyclists were at fault, telling police they were "too wide on the road... were not riding in single file... I went to go around them and they bumped on top of my car".

However, it was only late in the proceedings that McGrillen accepted he was at fault and "expressed remorse and hurt" for the tragic victims and their families.

McGrillen had initially denied the charges but in May this year entered guilty pleas to causing the death of Mr Fitzpatrick by dangerous driving, and causing grievous bodily injury to Mr Mills.

The collision happened on Killyleagh Road near Downpatrick in October 2019

Mr Murphy said that McGrillen had suffered a stroke in 2017 but had failed to declare his condition when renewing his licence the following year. When asked on a motoring insurance form if he suffered from any illnesses, including a stroke, which could affect his entitlement or ability to drive, he answered "no".

Mr Murphy told the court: "Had he made a disclosure about his medical condition prior to the accident, we say it is reasonable to conclude that his licence would have been revoked.

"This is an aggravating feature in that had he made the appropriate disclosures he would not have been driving and the collision would not have occurred."

Judge Miller said McGrillen had "taken no steps whatsoever to avoid a full-on, nose-to-tail collision", but had "ploughed straight into them", which was captured on Mr Mills's cycle-mounted, rear-facing camera and also dashcam footage from a passing ambulance.

"This amounts to an exceptionally bad piece of driving which resulted in a fatality and serious injury. I am satisfied that this amounts to an aggravating feature of dangerousness in this case," the judge said.

"He first blamed the cyclists and claimed he was not at fault. Had it not been shown in Mr Mills's camera footage, he might have persisted in this lie."

As well as the five-year determinate sentence for causing death by dangerous driving, McGrillen received a further four-year concurrent sentence for causing grievous bodily injury.

The judge also banned the defendant from driving for life.