Young Burnfoot man cleared of no insurance charge due to ‘lack of evidence’

A young Burnfoot man who caused a road traffic collision in Burnfoot has been cleared of driving without insurance after a judge ruled there was a lack of evidence to convict.

Adam McGowan, of Ballyderowen, Burnfoot, faced charges of no insurance and failure to produce insurance at Buncrana District Court.

The 21-year-old defendant was not present in court, but he was represented by solicitor Frank Dorrian, who successfully argued that the charges should be dropped because they couldn’t be proved.

Garda Raymond Hamilton gave evidence in the case against Mr McGowan. He said he was on duty at Buncrana Garda Station on June 10, 2024, when Mr Bernard McLaughlin, of Ballyliffin, contacted the station to report a two-vehicle road traffic collision, which had occurred on April 20, 2024.

Garda Hamilton subsequently spoke with the other driver, the defendant Adam McGowan, and requested production of his licence and certificate of insurance. However, he subsequently failed to produce any insurance documentation.

Mr McGowan was 19 at the time of the collision.

Bernard McLaughlin was then sworn in to testify in the case, telling the court how Mr McGowan drove into the back of him on the main R238 road at Burnfoot.

“I was coming home from Belfast, and I came to Leo’s in Burnfoot, when the car in front of me stopped dead in the road with its indicator on to turn to the right-hand side.”

“I stopped directly behind it, and two seconds later, a car drove into the back of me.”

“I looked into the mirror, and I saw the car behind me, and the fellow who was driving it was putting his seatbelt on at the time.”

Mr McLaughlin said the crash occurred on a busy main road, so he pulled in to the side of the road to assess the damage.

“I got out and went to the back of my car, which was drove-in at the bottom. The car behind me was a red UK-registered Volkswagen Golf, and the front of it was all smashed.”

Mr McLaughlin said the other driver gave his name as Adam McGowan, and they exchanged details.

“I asked him if he had insurance, and he said he had. We started to talk about it. He said he was sorry, that it was his fault, and that he would pay for the damage.”

“I said that would be grand, as long as that was all done. He gave me his phone number, and I took a few pictures of his car, before leaving the scene.”

However, following the crash, Mr McGowan failed to pay for any damage caused.

“I phoned him to see what was happening. He did answer the phone a couple of times, but then he stopped answering,” Mr McLaughlin further told the court.

“He told me he had another accident the Christmas beforehand and he was worried he would probably lose his licence.”

“I told him that I didn’t want any of that hassle; I just wanted my car paid for. But he wouldn’t answer the phone any time ever after that.”

Sgt Conor Mulkerns asked the witness whether he recalled the exact date and time that the incident happened, but he said he couldn’t recall.

Mr McLaughlin said he phoned the guards on the day it happened, whilst he was driving down towards Fahan, and he went back to the Garda Station in Buncrana some weeks later to report it, after Mr McGowan had stopped answering his phone.

Sgt Mulkerns asked Mr McLaughlin whether he recalled the registration plate of the car that crashed into him. He said he didn’t, but he took a picture of the vehicle.

Following the evidence, defence solicitor Mr Dorrian said there was no case to convict his client, Mr McGowan.

“It’s alleged that on a specific date, April 20, 2024, we drove a specific vehicle, but there’s no evidence of that. All we have is the date he made a complaint, and that’s it.”

“In order to impose a conviction for no insurance, we need the date on which it happened and the number of the vehicle. We have no evidence of either of those,” the defence solicitor told the judge.

Sgt Mulkerns accepted that the required evidence was not given in court.

“The witness doesn’t recall the date or the registration, but in fairness to the witness, he was only notified yesterday that the case was down for hearing,” he said.

Judge Emile Daly said she was “compelled to dismiss” both charges on the basis of what was outlined to her.