A Banbridge woman has been told by a judge she is lucky to have only been charged with careless driving after knocking over a young child on a bike.
Nicola McDonagh, 75, of Ballydown Meadows, appeared at Craigavon Magistrates’ Court on Friday charged with driving without due care and attention.
The incident occurred on April 24, last year, police spotted a child with scraped knees who had been knocked off his bike on Market Street, Portadown.
Nearby police spotted a Honda which was involved in the incident and the defendant was identified as the driver.
In interview, McDonagh denied careless driving and appeared in court with a clean record.
District Judge Bernie Kelly told the court that the child was knocked over on a pedestrian crossing and was with his mother and siblings.
She stated that the defendant was lucky she only hit the one child.
Judge Kelly even added that due the seriousness of the offence McDonagh could count herself lucky she wasn’t charged with dangerous driving which could lead to a 12-month disqualification from driving.
The defendant was handed a six-month ban and fined £75.
She was also ordered to retake her test at the end of this period and attend her GP to see if she was fit to drive.
Judge Kelly said that the defendant was “very lucky” and should “seriously reconsider her driving future after the incident”.
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