Suspended term for teen 'racer'

A 19-year-old road racer was sentenced to a year in jail suspended for four years after a court heard that the man in the car behind him crashed and died.

Alan David Parke, from Shore Road in Ballyronan, admitted dangerous driving and obstructing a police officer at Londonderry Crown Court on Monday.

Martin Higgins, who died, drove into a field near Toomebridge in 2005.

The judge said it was fortunate there was no evidence of contact between the two vehicles.

Suspending Parke's sentence for four years, she said: "Racing with young men your age is far too typical throughout this jurisdiction.

"There is no good saying sorry afterwards. This could have been avoided. You have a far too cavalier attitude to driving."

Parke, a father of one, was also disqualified from driving for three years.

The court was told that the weather conditions on the dual carriageway near Toomebridge were particularly bad on that day.