Man appears in court charged over head-on collision which killed father and son

A man has appeared in court charged over a head-on collision that took place over the Christmas period in which a father and son were killed.

The court heard that the man is diabetic and the last thing he remembers before the crash was feeling that his blood sugar was low.

Peter Devlin and his son Loughlin were killed in the two-car crash outside Killylea in Co Armagh on the afternoon of December 27.

Ivan Petrov, 32, a Bulgarian national who the court heard has been in Northern Ireland since 2015 but who has no permanent address in the jurisdiction, appeared before Newry Magistrates Court on Friday.

He is charged with two counts of causing the deaths of Peter and Loughlin Devlin by dangerous driving and one count of causing grievous bodily injury to Ursula Devlin by dangerous driving.

A constable told the court that the serious collision on Killylea Road took place at around 12.43pm last Friday between an Audi and a Mercedes.

Mr Petrov, the driver and the sole occupant of the Audi, was taken to hospital with rib and arm fractures.

Loughlin Devlin, who was driving the Mercedes, and his father Peter Devlin, who was a rear-seat passenger, died at the scene of the crash.

Ursula Devlin, Peter’s wife and Loughlin’s mother, who was also in the rear-seat of the Mercedes, remains critically ill in hospital, the court heard on Friday.

Another woman and a baby boy were injured in the incident but have since been released from hospital.

The constable told the court that following a forensic examination of the scene, it is believed that the head-on collision took place in the Mercedes’ lane and that they believe the Audi entered the wrong side of the road.

The court heard that witnesses also reported that the Audi had travelled into the oncoming lane.

Asked about other evidence, the constable told the court that Mr Petrov said in his police interview that he is diabetic and that his blood sugar was low prior to the collision.

“He stopped to take a chocolate bar and felt that he was ok to drive,” the constable said.

A solicitor for Mr Petrov said that the defendant cannot remember the actual accident or the collision and that his last memory was feeling that his blood sugar was low, to which the constable agreed.

An application for bail was made and the court heard Mr Petrov’s mother had provided her son’s passport and offered surety.

The court heard that police believe he is a “serious” flight risk and objected to bail.

Mr Petrov was refused bail and was remanded in custody.

The case is next due before court in Armagh on Tuesday January 21.