By Garrett Hargan
A 19-year-old man charged with drink-driving a vehicle which crashed on the outskirts of Derry leaving a young woman in a ‘semi-vegetative state’ has been granted bail.
Conor McSorley, of Roe Mill Walk in Limavady, appeared in court charged with thirteen offences arising from a road traffic accident (RTA) on December 20.
Those include driving with excess alcohol, possession of cannabis, using a vehicle without insurance or a license, driving with excess speed, causing grievous bodily harm by driving carelessly, driving without due care and attention, and failing to remain at the scene of an accident.
Around 9.45pm on December 20 there was a report of an RTA on the Clooney Road, Limavady bound. As a result a car ended up in a ‘nearside field’ and a female who was the front seat passenger had to be transported to hospital with ‘very serious injuries’.
It emerged during a bail application on March 12 that the young woman has been left in a ‘semi-vegetative state’.
McSorley has remained in custody since after District Judge Ranaghan granted him bail but excluded him from entering the Limavady area – which is the only place where an address was available to him.
Defence barrister Eoghan Devlin asked District Judge Barney McElholm to consider amending the condition to allow his client to enter Limavady.
A police officer appeared in court to object to bail, he said ‘residency was still an issue’ and ‘it was agreed by the court that he was not allowed to enter the Limavady area’. He said the victim’s father lives near the proposed address - approximately 800/900 metres away.
‘Tension in the community is still very high in relation to the matter,’ the PSNI officer said. He added that the injured party remains in hospital, ‘in what can only be described as a semi-vegetative state’.
The police officer said that while the injured party can ‘breathe on her own’ and move, she is unable to perform tasks that require ‘higher cognitive ability’. He believed ‘the prognosis was pretty bleak’.
According to the officer, McSorley ‘has a poor criminal record for his age’ consisting of fifty-eight previous convictions, seven of which were for road traffic offences. He said he had concerns for, not only the victim’s family, but also for the defendant if he was released on bail.
Mr Devlin said he understood the ‘sensitivities’ surrounding the case, but he submitted that McSorley does not have a history of ‘committing offences while on bail’ and under cross-examination the police officer agreed that ‘no threats’ had been made against the defendant.
Defence counsel told the court that his client has no interest in contacting the injured party’s father and he said the incident consisted of a one vehicle road traffic accident. He added that it wasn’t a case with a ‘large number of civilian witnesses or anyone he could interfere with’.
Conditions
Requesting bail, he said the Limavady address was the only one available to his client and if there was an address ‘anywhere else’ he would have suggested that.
Judge McElholm granted the 19-year-old his own bail of £150 to reside at Roe Mill Walk and no other address, and his mother must act as a £750 surety. Bail conditions exclude him from entering Irish Green Street or go within 800 metres of Keady Way.
He has a curfew of 7pm-7am, must not possess alcohol or non-prescribed drugs, must have no contact direct or indirect with injured parties or witnesses, has to report daily to the police station, and is prohibited from travelling in a motor vehicle unless a paying passenger.
The judge warned: “If this man breaches once he is to be remanded in custody.” He also said the victim’s family should be informed of the situation so it ‘doesn’t come as a surprise to them’ and they could be given the bail conditions ‘so they know where he is not to be’.
The 19-year-old will appear for a court sitting again on March 29.
If you have a story or want to send a photo or video to us please contact the Derry Now editorial team on 028 7129 6600 for Derry City stories Or 028 7774 3970 for County Derry stories. Or you can email editor@derrynews.net at any time.