A speeding Ferrari driver who was more concerned about his dying mother than the rules of the road was today (Tuesday) handed a 12 driving ban for dangerous driving.
Craigavon Magistrates’ Court heard that police patrolling the M12 motorway in Portadown saw a red Ferrari join the motorway in an “abrupt manoeuvre, cutting in front of preceding vehicles”.
A prosecutor outlined how the driver pulled into lane two “before speeding up significantly” and the police decided to follow.
The Ferrari pulled on to the M1 “where the driver continued to accelerate” and, at times, the unmarked police car reached speeds up to 140 mph to keep up but, eventually, they were able to catch up and pull the driver over.
Standing at the back of the court 46-year-old Niall McNulty, from Sligo Road in Enniskillen, was charged with both speeding and dangerous driving, but the PPS withdrew the excess speed after he admitted dangerous driving.
Defence counsel Damien Halleron revealed that McNulty had received a call that he needed to get to hospital in Enniskillen where his mother lay seriously ill, further revealing she had sadly passed away a few days later.
He conceded that by McNulty’s manner of driving, “‘his only concern was for his mother’s health rather than the rules of the road”.
Having heard that McNulty’s father is an undertaker, District Judge Francis Rafferty described the speed as “outrageous” and told the defendant he “could have created multiple clients for your father.”
In addition to a 12 month driving ban, McNulty was also fined £600.
