A drunk driver who killed a 12-year-old schoolboy boasted about driving without a licence for 18 years, the High Court has heard.
Just days before Lucas Trainor was fatally knocked down by Peter Milligan, 51, it is claimed he was bragging in a bar that he had no licence after being disqualified in 2007.
Lucas was struck by a Skoda Fabia while riding a scooter in Portaferry, Co Down, on July 8 this year.
Milligan, of Ashmount Park in Portaferry, has admitted driving the car and told police he had been drinking in two pubs prior to the crash.
He faces a total of 11 charges, including causing death by dangerous driving, failing to stop or remain at an accident, and driving without insurance or a licence.
Opposing bail, prosecution counsel Sarah Minford claimed the defendant should have retaken his driving test following a previous ban in 2007, the Belfast Telegraph reports.
She added that a witness states ‘he was bragging in a bar on July 5 that he hadn’t had a licence for 18 years yet he continued to drive throughout this time’.
‘It seemed to be something he took great pleasure in and was proud of,’ Ms Minford told the court.
Lucas Trainor was struck by a Skoda Fabia while riding a scooter in Portaferry, Co Down, on July 8 this year.
Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan refused his application for bail, ruling that he poses a high risk of re-offending.
It was heard that Lucas was found at the scene and was taken to hospital where he died after sustaining traumatic head injuries.
Witnesses reported the car hitting the boy and then leaving the area before the Skoda Fabia was found 15 minutes later.
Police located the vehicle after receiving a second report that it had been abandoned after hitting the wall of a property four miles away.
After identifying Milligan as the owner of the car, he was found by officers the following morning, around half a mile from where the vehicle was left.
The 51-year-old refused to take a preliminary breath test before he was taken to hospital for treatment of a fractured foot, the court heard.
Ms Minford said that CCTV shows Milligan downing pints of beer in a bar in the town on the night Lucas was killed.
Footage also showed the Skoda travelling at speed through Portaferry, where another pedestrian was almost hit before the fatal collision.
Ms Minford said that CCTV shows Milligan downing pints of beer in a bar in the town on the night Lucas was killed. Pictured: The Strand in Portaferry, close to the scene of the fatal collision.
Ms Minford told the court that Milligan had admitted to causing the boy’s death by his driving and to being under the influence of alcohol.
‘He stated he had been drinking in two bars, one in Strangford and one in Portaferry,’ Ms Minford said.
Milligan claimed a friend gave him a lift home and was checked on his mother before he decided to get in his car to ‘go for a spin’, despite knowing he had no valid licence or MOT for his car.
Milligan’s barrister said he had gone out on a drive to clear his head due to the pressures of caring for his mother, who suffers from advanced dementia.
After the fatal collision, he panicked and drove off without knowing what he had hit, according to his account.
The court heard that as police read the charges to Milligan he told them: ‘I am so sorry for the death of Lucas, please give my condolences to his poor mother and father, I will regret this until the day I die.’
Lady Chief Justice questioned how Milligan avoided sitting a test following his disqualification as she denied him bail.
‘I do not understand how somebody remains undetected without a licence for 18 years. Does nobody chase that?,’ she said.
She continued: ‘Given the seriousness of these offences, the applicant’s track record and his own behaviour, I couldn’t be confident he would comply with any conditions I would set.’
