A MAN jailed for causing the death of a top Irish road cyclist by dangerous driving must have a retrial because the jury was not given the chance to consider an alternative charge, the Court of Appeal in Belfast has said.
Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan said the failure to present the option of careless driving amounted to an irregularity that made Michael Croome’s conviction unsafe.
The court has quashed Mr Croome’s conviction for the events which led to David McCall being killed. Mr McCall (46), a Commonwealth Games medallist, was killed as he raced with a group of cyclists on the Belfast Road at Nutts Corner, Co Antrim, in August 2008.
Mr Croome (28), Cliftonville Road, Belfast, and Priory Wharf, Chester, had been rushing to catch a flight. He denied causing the death of the Lisburn-based cyclist by dangerous driving.
Mr Croome was jailed for five years and banned from driving for five years in March last year.
He based his appeal on claims that the trial judge erred in not leaving the jury with an alternative charge of causing death by careless driving.