Limavady man sentenced
Thursday, 3 July 2008
Adam Montague who would have been 20 on Saturday was killed in a car driven by Mark Ellis in August 2006.
THE family of a Limavady teenager killed in a road crash have said a five-and-a-half year sentence handed to the driver responsible should serve as a warning to other road users.
Adam Montague died following a smash on the Cam Road, Macosquin in 2006.
On Friday, Mark Andrew Ellis, who was driving the car in which he was travelling, was jailed at Ballymena Crown Court.
The accident also claimed the life of 85-year-old Margaret Chivers who was driving in the opposite direction with her daughter.
Ellis, of Josephine Avenue, Limavady, was convicted last month on two counts of causing death by dangerous driving.
In addition to a five-and-a-half year jail term with a further 18 months probation, he was also disqualified from driving for 10 years and fined £1,000 for driving with no insurance.
In front of relatives of both victims, judge Smyth QC told the court: "No sentence passed will come as any comfort to the families of Margaret Chivers and Adam Montague."
He added: "The dangers caused by speeding young male drivers remains constant."
Judge Smyth said he had no confidence the situation would change in the near future.
Speaking after the hearing, Glenda Montague thanked the team of investigators led by the PSNI's Sergeant Colin Reeves.
She added: "Adam would have been 20-year-old tomorrow (Saturday) and although we will never have the gift of seeing him again, the justice that was served here today is our gift to him.
“The devastation that Mark Ellis has caused to so many lives can not be undone and can not go unpunished."
