Man jailed over car crash deaths

The accident happened on a straight stretch of road

A 23-year-old man has been sentenced to seven years in jail for causing a car crash which killed four of his friends.

Curtis Armstrong, from Ivy Hill in Lisburn, was driving when his car crashed into a field and hit a tree at Ligoniel in February 2004.

Armstrong was sentenced to seven years for each of the four counts of dangerous driving he was convicted of, but they will be served concurrently.

He has also been fined £500 and disqualified from driving for 12 years.

The prosecution had claimed the car was travelling at close to 100mph, but the defence said this was "guesswork" and other factors may have been involved.

Ian Currie, 18, and Philip McMurray, 19, from Banbridge, Joseph McDonald, 19, from Belfast and Graeme Waring, 17, from Lisburn, died instantly when the car crashed on the Ballyhill Road.

They were all students at Lisburn College of Further and Higher Education.

Mr Leslie Currie, speaking outside Antrim Crown Court on behalf of the families, said their "grief and anguish has been compounded at times by the apparent reluctance of the driver to assume any responsibility or express any remorse".

However, Mr Currie said the families were more than satisfied by the sentence and that "justice has been seen to be done".

"We think it is appropriate that the full rigor of the law has been applied in this case," he added.