Man found guilty of Davy McCall's death

Dura Ace

This was on the BBC news a few minutes ago. The convicted man had committed previous motor offences, yet was able to drive off in his car after being found guilty, as he had business interests to look after.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/8522537.stm


A man has been found guilty of causing the death by dangerous driving of top Irish road racing cyclist David McCall. The Commonwealth Games medallist was knocked down by Michael Gerard Groome, 27, from Cliftonville Road in Belfast.
Mr McCall was taking part in a race near Nutt's Corner in County Antrim in August 2008 when he was fatally injured.
Groome had been hurrying to catch a flight at the international airport when he hit Mr McCall's bicycle.
He was overtaking another vehicle when the collision happened.
He initially failed to stop but returned to the scene a short time later.
He was released on bail and will be sentenced next month.
Mr McCall, 46 and a father of two, worked as a civil servant and also jointly ran Sportactive, which organises cycling and walking holidays.
He was a member of the Maryland Wheelers club in Lisburn and had won many cycling honours in Europe and Ireland.
His club have established a charitable foundation in his name.

blorg

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/driver-guilty-of-killing-irish-racer-david-mccall-25089

Sentencing next month. I'd be surprised if he gets more than a slap on the wrist

niceonetom

Drove away from court apparently.

Disgusting.

Beasty

I think (hope) he'll get a prison sentence. I heard that even when he returned to the scene he was keen to head back to the airport to catch his plane, but was stopped by the police. Complete scumbag.

blorg

Sorry about that, me not searching again, maybe a mod could merge the threads.

[mod note: done]

RobFowl

I didn't Know Davy McCall but have many frined who did and all thought extremely highly of him.
Tommy Lamb from cycling Ulster released this yeaterday

http://www.cyclingulster.com/?thenewsid=3828&newstable=news

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]Cycling Ulster Chairman Tommy Lamb has paid tribute to Davy McCall on the day in which a Belfast man has been found guilty of causing his death by dangerous driving. “Davy was a legend in Irish cycling.” Lamb said. “He was a top international rider who represented both Northern Ireland and Ireland on the world stage. Not only was he a top sporting star but he was also a very down to earth person, easily approachable and willing to pass on his knowledge and skills to a new generation of racing cyclists. Many top athletes leave their sport when they retire but David was passionate about cycling and continued to race at a local level with his Lisburn based Maryland Wheelers club. Not only that but he also qualified as a commissaire (cycling referee) and gave freely of his time in helping to organise races throughout the country. I knew Davy for almost 30 years and he was a perfect gentleman and a role model for all aspiring athletes. He had time for everyone from the complete novice right through to our professional riders. ”
Just this week the David McCall Cycling Foundation, which was established to promote cycling in Ulster and keep Davy’s name alive, announced three major awards. They will be supporting two Womens Training Camps in the near future and will also be the main sponsor for the Cycling Ulster team in this years international Tour of the North cycle race at Easter. Last year they supported a team in the Tour of Malta and are currently in negotiations regarding a major financial boost to help promote youth racing in the country. The Foundation consists of four members of Maryland Wheelers, one member of Phoenix CC, a representative from Cycling Ulster and David’s daughter Emma McCall. Funds have been raised by the cycling fraternity from throughout Ireland and abroad.
Lamb explained that Cycling Ulster has just established an ad hoc Safety Committee to raise awareness about speed on the roads and the rights of all road users including cyclists. There have been five serious accidents in the North Down area alone in the past month with one member of the Curran Racing team still in a serious condition following a collision with a lorry just last week.

niceonetom

blorg wrote: »

Sentencing next month. I'd be surprised if he gets more than a slap on the wrist

Thankfully, this time you're wrong.

Man jailed for five years for cyclist's death.

el tel

Dura Ace wrote: »

The convicted man had committed previous motor offences, yet was able to drive off in his car after being found guilty, as he had business interests to look after.

Yup, quite incredible. He had a record of driving offences, caused a death and also managed to commit two further speeding offences between that death and his conviction in court, yet was sfae enough to get back on the roads.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/driver-caught-speeding-twice-after-killing-cyclist-14742950.html

Really, words can only begin to describe what a **** this specimen is.

monument

el tel wrote: »

Yup, quite incredible. He had a record of driving offences, caused a death and also managed to commit two further speeding offences between that death and his conviction in court, yet was sfae enough to get back on the roads.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/driver-caught-speeding-twice-after-killing-cyclist-14742950.html

Really, words can only begin to describe what a **** this specimen is.

That article is well worth reading in full for anybody who hasn't.

This is a key bit:

Yesterday, Judge Lockie told the court that a probation report showed that Croome does not accept the verdict of the jury and continues to deny his guilt.

He said that Croome also “showed an absence of emotion and empathy” during the course of the tria

Judge Lockie added that on the evening of the accident Croome drove in an “aggressive” manner to reach Belfast International Airport for a flight to Liverpool.

“He performed a risky overtaking manoeuvre. The defendant then decided to accelerate to pass the cyclists when he could have maintained his speed.

“He had no need to increase his speed.

“The defendant applied an overtaking position too close to the line of the cyclists,” Judge Lockie said.

He added: “There is no dispute that the defendant continued |to drive 500 yards before he stopped.

“He then got out and inspected the damage to his car before driving back to the scene of the impact.

“I have been left with the feeling that for a good part of this 500 yards he deliberately drove on before deciding to stop.”

The Judge said that Croome’s behaviour at the scene of the accident “angered” some people and that he made “inappropriate and insensitive comments about his flight to people already shocked by what had happened”.

Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/driver-caught-speeding-twice-after-killing-cyclist-14742950.html#ixzz0jJ5L3Aqh

Tau

But they haven't taken his licence away, so he'll presumably be back on the roads when he's out.

There is far too much respect around for people's right to drive. Dangerous idiots like this shouldn't be driving ever again.

EDIT: Actually, they've removed his licence for 5 years, so what, he can't drive while he's in jail?

tomasrojo

Tau wrote: »

There is far too much respect around for people's right to drive. Dangerous idiots like this shouldn't be driving ever again.

I don't drive very much, so this may colour my perception, but people who have proven themselves to be more than usually careless, aggressive or stupid behind the wheel should just get a bus or taxi. Taking someone's licence away should be a more common occurrence, even if that person's job depends on it. In fact, particulary when their job depends on it, because in that case it's high time they found a profession that their temperament or intellect allows them to do safely.

Obviously someone would have to do something outrageously bad to have his or her licence taken away for ten years or more. The Davy McCall case seems like such a case.

Tau wrote: »

EDIT: Actually, they've removed his licence for 5 years, so what, he can't drive while he's in jail?

I guess it's like imposing concurrent sentences. It doesn't directly affect them during the punitive period, but it goes on their criminal record.

Beasty

Tau wrote: »

EDIT: Actually, they've removed his licence for 5 years, so what, he can't drive while he's in jail?

With good behaviour he'll probably be out within a couple of years, but the driving ban will not be reduced. Hence it is important that he received the ban, just a shame it wasn't 10 years, or a lifetime ban

blorg

He will probably be out in 2.5 or less so the driving ban will still apply after that.

He really does sound like a contemptuous human being. He had just killed someone and his concern was he might miss his flight.