A pensioner from Ballymoney has been spared imprisonment after admitting to causing the death of a woman through careless driving.
Isobel Dunlop, aged 84, from Postboy Walk in the town, had her 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years following the tragic incident involving 64-year-old Sandra Cooper.
The court heard that on December 6, 2021, at approximately 4.30 pm, a collision occurred in the car park of John Street Eurospar in Ballymoney. CCTV footage revealed Dunlop reversing her Hyundai from a parking space and then moving forward as Mrs Cooper walked towards her own car. While both Dunlop and Mrs Cooper yielded to another vehicle entering the car park, Mrs Cooper was struck by Dunlop’s car as she crossed, resulting in her becoming trapped underneath.
Judge Crawford noted that Dunlop made several attempts to move her vehicle, unaware that she had struck a person. After realising the situation, Dunlop sought help from the shop. Emergency services arrived, but Mrs Cooper suffered a cardiac arrest and was later pronounced dead on December 16 due to an anoxic brain injury caused by the collision.
Initially charged with causing death by dangerous driving, Dunlop pleaded not guilty. However, following discussions after an engineering report, she changed her plea to guilty for careless driving on the day of her trial, leading to the dangerous driving charge being dropped.
While the judge confirmed the case met the threshold for custody, she reduced the sentence to 12 months due to Dunlop’s guilty plea and the family’s avoidance of a trial.
The judge cited Dunlop’s remorse, her clean record, her age, and personal circumstances as exceptional factors justifying the suspension of the custodial sentence.
Alongside the suspended sentence, Dunlop was disqualified from driving for 18 months.