Man sentenced over causing woman's death by dangerous driving

A man who caused the death of a woman while using his mobile phone behind the wheel of his car has been handed a five year prison sentence.

Jonathan McNeill, 40, of Hollowburn Road, Ballycraigy in County Antrim was told that he will spend half the sentence in custody with the remainder on supervised licence.

McNeill had previously pleaded guilty to a single charge of causing the death of Jenny Dunlop by dangerous driving.

The high speed collision happened on 5 March 2023 on the M2 southbound carriageway near the Sandyknowes road junction in Newtownabbey.

Ms Dunlop (59) was driving her VW Polo car when McNeill crashed into the rear of her car at around 70 mph.

She died in hospital from her injuries two days later.

At the time of the collision, traffic was at a standstill due to roadworks.

Belfast Crown Court heard that in the lead up to the crash, McNeill had been using his mobile phone for around 15 minutes to contact people through Snapchat and Facebook messenger.

A subsequent examination of his phone revealed that he deleted two apps before the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) arrived on the scene.

Later that night, while being treated in hospital, the defendant also deleted dating apps Tinder and Badoo from his device.

Defence counsel Ian Turkington KC said that following the collision McNeill had to be cut out of his Audi S3 vehicle and sustained a fractured clavicle and injuries to his hand and neck.

"It is right to say he was a vulnerable individual in the build up to the accident. He had a number of mental health issues prior to the accident and there has been a deterioration in his mental health after the incident for which he has received counselling,'' Turkington said.

In a pre-sentence report McNeill said he had "no appetite to drive or get behind the wheel of a car ever again''.

Turkington told the court said McNeill was "completely sorry for his role in relation to the collision" and he "fully accepts" causing the death of Ms Dunlop.

Passing sentence, Judge Patrick Lynch KC said the deletion by McNeill of apps was an attempt to "avoid detection and mitigate his own responsibility for his actions which I regard as an aggravating feature in this case''.

He said he believed the case was one of either high culpability or more serious culpability given the nature of McNeill's driving that evening.

"The reason for that is the defendant was driving down a road with cruise control on paying little or no attention to the road surface or the general conditions or the traffic in front of him,'' Judge Lynch said.

"Had he done so he would have needed only the minimum of attention to the various signs warning about road works ahead, that the motorway was closed and there were a number of vehicles ahead of him.

"He would also have noticed that the deceased had her hazard warning lights on and he was driving dangerously along this road for a practical period of time, not just a few seconds prior to the crash.''

Imposing a five year determinate custodial sentence, Judge Lynch also disqualified McNeill from driving for a period of four years.