A MOTORIST involved in two road traffic incidents on the same day had had a stroke, a court heard.

The defence offered in a contested case of hit and run – namely that the driver failed to remain at the scene of an accident or report it – was based on the fact that the driver was oblivious to what had happened.

Solicitor Sean Cahill appeared at Clonakilty District Court on behalf of the accused Robert O’Sullivan (76) of 7, Hospital Road, Bantry.

The solicitor pointed out that his client had already received and paid a fixed charge penalty in relation to the second incident in Ballineen on February 17th last, and that should be sufficient.

The accused appeared before Judge John King at Clonakilty District Court where he pleaded not guilty to the incident that occurred at West Green, Dunmanway, on the same date.

Billy Crowley, the owner of a 2014 Nissan Qashqai valued at €7,000, said he heard a bang and when he went out he saw the damage and reported the matter to gardaí.

He said gardaí checked the CCTV and an assessor subsequently established that his car could no longer be driven and he was compensated by an insurance company.

Insp Roisin O’Dea told the court that the accused did present himself for interview.

He told them he thought there was something wrong with his vehicle because it seemed to him to be continually pulling to the left.

He also said he thought he’d hit a pothole.

Afterwards the accused’s partner brought him to CUH where he was placed under observation, deemed to have had a stroke, and was detained for surgery which established that he had a 95% arterial blockage.

In evidence in his own defence, Robert O’Sullivan admitted that he had been driving on a learner’s permit for the last 25 years, but he denied any knowledge of having hit the car in Dunmanway.

‘I thought it was the car that was pulling to the left, but it was me that was pulling to the left,’ he said.

The court was told that the accused co-operated fully with the gardaí and that it was a female paramedic at the Ballineen incident who advised the man’s partner that he had, in all probability, had a stroke.

In cross-examination by Insp Roisin O’Dea, the accused said he told the investigating officer that he had no medical condition to speak of, but it was only afterwards – in hospital – he became aware of what had transpired, medically, on the day.

‘I see the evidence before me that I shouldn’t have been driving,’ the accused admitted after the CCTV footage of the incident at West Green was shown on the video screens at Clonakilty District Court.

The court was also told that the surgery was very successful and that Robert O’Sullivan has no intention of driving unless he is medically fit to do so.

Judge King said: ‘Taking everything into consideration I have a reasonable doubt that there was an intention to commit an offence and I will dismiss the charges.’

Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme.