A MAN who caused the death of a pensioner in a road traffic collision while he was almost three times over the drink-drive limit has been jailed.
Delivery driver John Taggart, 36, mounted a traffic island in Belfast city centre before colliding with 70-year-old Paul Marshall at around 5.40pm on September 2, 2024.
Mr Marshall was taken to hospital with ‘catastrophic injuries’ and passed away six days later.
Taggart, who pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and driving with excess alcohol, will serve three years in custody and three years on licence
The incident occurred at Millfield junction in the city centre close to Belfast Met Millfield campus.
Taggart was driving a white Transit van when he struck Mr Marshall, who was standing on a traffic island.
“Our enquiries determined Taggart made a left manoeuvre at speed from the outside lane to the inside lane and then mounted the traffic island,” said Constable Miller-Devlin from the PSNI.
“Taggart was arrested at the scene after failing a preliminary breath test.
“He later provided a lower reading of 95 per 100ml of breath in police custody, which is almost three times over the legal limit.
“Sadly, Mr Marshall suffered catastrophic injuries as a result of this collision and later died in hospital.
“Our thoughts are with Mr Marshall’s family as they continue to come to terms with the loss of their loved one and the devastating consequences of this collision.”
Taggart was also disqualified from driving for seven years.
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