Veteran lorry driver has conviction for failing to remain at accident scene overturned
A veteran lorry driver has been acquitted of failing to remain at the scene of an incident where a young boy made contact with his truck, with an appeal court finding there was evidence that the defendant had stopped for at least a minute.
However, John Burkett (70), with an address in Newcastle, Dublin, must pay a fine to Crumlin’s Children’s Hospital after pleading guilty to a charge of failing to report the occurrence to gardai as soon as possible at the District Court Appeals Court on Thursday.
The court heard that a boy made contact with the truck driven by Burkett a location in Dublin on August 10, 2022, resulting in a fractured shoulder and leg injuries.
Burkett was convicted at the District Court of failing to remain at the scene, keeping the vehicle at or near the place of the occurrence for a period that was reasonable, contrary to section 106 (1)(b)&(3)(a) of the Road Traffic Act, 1961.
He was fined €1,200 and disqualified from driving for four years for that offence and later lodged an appeal against this conviction.
He was also convicted of failing to report to gardai that he was involved in the occurrence of injury to a person as soon as possible to the gardai, contrary to section 106(1)(d)(ii) of the same act. This offence was taken into consideration by the sentencing judge.
Burkett’s defence counsel, Justin McQuade BL, told the appeals judge that the appellant would be pleading to the charge of failing to report the accident to gardai. The appeal then proceeded to contest the charge of failing to remain at the scene.
In a garda interview played to the court, the injured party said that the driver stopped at the scene “for a second” and then drove away. He said in the interview that the driver did not get out and help.
He said that he was confused, because the driver obviously knew that he hit something and wouldn’t have stopped for no reason.
Prosecution counsel said the evidence of the injuries sustained made it impossible for the child to run away from the scene.
The child agreed with Mr McQuade that he was drifting in and out of consciousness after the accident. He said that he suffered a fracture to his shoulder and had to get stitches for a hole in his leg.
The child’s mother told the court that she saw her son being propped up by a neighbour and that he was limping.
She said that the boy was “hysterical” with the pain in his shoulder and that he thought he was going to die.
A garda told the court that after attending the scene, he went to the house of the driver and left his details. He said that Burkett acknowledged that a collision had occurred shortly after in a phone call.
He said that in a voluntary cautioned statement, Burkett said that he saw two children on the footpath and blew the horn at them.
He said that he proceeded slowly but one of the children stepped off the footpath. He said that the child had hit his head and that the two children had run away when he stopped and checked.
A defence witness who analysed the tachograph of the vehicle Burkett had been driving said that the truck had stopped and was registered as resting for a minute at the relevant time.
Burkett told the court that he had worked as a lorry driver for 50 years and had been driving all of his life.
In a voluntary cautioned statement read out to the court, he said that he saw in the mirror that the child had hit his head on the back of the trailer.
He said in the statement that he stopped to check if the boys were all right but that they were gone. He told the court that he wasn’t sure that the child had been injured.
Prosecuting counsel said the child gave clear and cogent evidence that the driver didn’t stop and check and that he was carried back to his mother with quite severe injuries.
Counsel said that Burkett’s entire story was “concocted”.
Mr McQuade said that the court is obliged to view the most favourable maximum period of time the truck was stopped in relation to the tachograph evidence.
Judge James O’Donoghue said that the case boiled down to the length of time the accused stayed at the scene.
He said the court was satisfied that the truck did stop, despite the injured party saying that the driver left almost within a second. He said the court accepts that the driver was stopped for possibly up to a minute.
Judge O’Donohoe said that when giving his voluntary statement, Burkett had no knowledge that he was going to be charged with the more serious offences and still said that he got out of the truck to check if the child was all right.
He said it was hard to believe that the injured party had vanished that quickly, but that the best evidence available was that the defendant was stopped for at least a minute. He said that Burkett had to be given the benefit of the doubt.
The judge said that the prosecution’s case hadn’t been proven beyond reasonable doubt. He said that he would be acquitting Burkett of the charge of failing to remain at the scene.
He noted that Burkett pleaded guilty to not reporting the accident. He said that it was also to Burkett’s credit that there were no charges against him in relation to careless or dangerous driving.
He ordered that Burkett pay €750 to Crumlin Children’s Hospital in lieu of a fine.
Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme
