Accident cost Baltimore businessman €7,500

A MAN who had been working hard to make a go of his business lost everything when an accident cost him €7,500.

Sgt Paul Kelly for the prosecution at Skibbereen District Court said the incident at Newcourt, Skibbereen, was reported to Gda Elaine O’Sullivan at 2.30am on January 26th 2019.

Flor Murphy, solicitor, appeared on behalf of the defendant, Padraig O’Driscoll of Ballylinch, Baltimore, who was convicted of careless driving and fined €500, but a charge of failing to report an accident was marked ‘proved’, and taken into consideration.

Mr Murphy said his client had been working delivering refrigerated products for about 16 hours that day and it was in the early hours of the morning he experienced a shake in the steering and let go of the wheel, which caused him to lose control of the vehicle.

Mr Murphy said his client’s van collided with the wall, causing an estimated €6,000 worth of damage, which he has since paid for, and is now out of pocket to the tune of €7,500.

He also said that the reason the incident was not reported immediately was because his client’s father came to collect him.