A man accused of causing the deaths of a father and son from Killylea by dangerous driving – and seriously injuring another – has been denied bail.
Ivan Petrov, with an address of Newry Road, Armagh, appeared before the city’s Magistrates’ Court – sitting in Newry – on Tuesday to lodge what District Judge Anne Marshall said was a third bail application.
The 33-year-old, appearing from Maghaberry via videolink, is accused of causing the deaths of Peter (63) and Loughlin Devlin (28) who were travelling in the same car when it was involved in a collision with a vehicle driven by Petrov on December 27, 2024.
Peter’s wife, Ursula Devlin, sustained serious injuries in the crash. Another woman and a young baby were treated for injuries in hospital.
Detective Constable Steven Wilson told the court that police were still waiting on a medical expert witness “who has given a current timetable of six months turnaround, however, they have recently caveated that with, if it’s urgent, they could do it within half that timeframe”.
Judge Marshall retorted: “I’d say it’s fairly urgent”.
The prosecutor told the court that this is “an incredibly sad and complex case” that requires co-operation from authorities in both Portugal and Bulgaria – the latter being the defendant’s native country.
Defence barrister Bobby Rea, in lodging the application on behalf of his client, argued that delay is a significant factor in the case.
Judge Marshall replied: “I do accept there’s delay. We’ve just had it confirmed a time scale of six months that can be reduced to three, and I’m saying it should be reduced. This is urgent. So we’re now at a three month time scale for that. I am not yet at the point where I think that the delay has overtaken the flight risk, so I’m going to refuse bail.”
Judge Marshall indicated that she would be “keeping a close eye” on the development of the case.
The case was adjourned until April 28 and Petrov was remanded back into custody.
