{"id":25299,"date":"2026-04-29T20:33:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T20:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/25299\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T20:33:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T20:33:20","slug":"man-labelled-a-danger-to-the-public-as-he-appears-in-court-over-crash-that-killed-friend-the-irish-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/25299\/","title":{"rendered":"Man labelled a \u2018danger to the public\u2019 as he appears in court over crash that killed \u2018friend\u2019 \u2013 The Irish News"},"content":{"rendered":"

A man appeared in court on Wednesday charged with offences linked to a fatal one vehicle road traffic collision just outside the village of Caledon at the weekend.<\/p>\n

The front seat passenger in the vehicle, Emmett Potter from Carrickmore<\/a>, is believed to have died at the scene at Derrycourtney Road on 25 April.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday Darren Peter Andrew Callaghan (38) from Ballynahatty Road, Fintona appeared at court charged with causing Mr Potter\u2019s death<\/a> by driving dangerously and while unfit through drink or drugs.<\/p>\n

He is further accused of driving while disqualified, without insurance, fraudulent use of a vehicle registration mark and failing to wear a seatbelt.<\/p>\n

\"Man<\/a>\"New<\/a><\/p>\n

A detective constable told Dungannon Magistrates Court the charges could be connected.<\/p>\n

She explained the victim was initially driving the Peugeot van from Aughnacloy but Callaghan took over the driving.<\/p>\n

Shortly after 11pm he lost control of the car which struck a tree and spun before coming to a stop on the road, the court heard.<\/p>\n

Another motorist witnessed the collision and assisted Callaghan from the vehicle. Police and paramedics arrived but Mr Potter was deceased.<\/p>\n

The court heard officers noted an odour of alcohol on Callaghan\u2019s breath and from within the vehicle.<\/p>\n

He was arrested and while in custody provided a prepared statement in which he accepted being the driver and knowing he was disqualified and had no insurance.<\/p>\n

Objecting to bail the detective said Callagahn has an extensive criminal record and was handed a four year disqualification at Omagh Magistrates Court in August 2025.<\/p>\n

However a defence solicitor suggested bail could be granted noting Callaghan has expressed \u201cclear remorse and regret at the death of his friend and this is a difficult burden for him to bear\u201d.<\/p>\n

The lawyer added: \u201cHe has accepted being the driver and that assists the police case. It would be unnecessary and disproportionate to remand him in custody.\u201d<\/p>\n

But District Judge Francis Rafferty replied: \u201cIt is necessary and proportionate to protect the public from him. Notwithstanding previous court orders disqualifying him from driving and being subject to suspended sentences, nothing this far has stopped him. I cannot be remotely satisfied any conditions I could impose would stop him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Addressing Callaghan directly the judge said: \u201cYou are a danger to the public and that\u2019s been demonstrated to the maximus. Your record shows absolute disregard for court orders.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bail was refused and Callaghan will appear again by video-link on 27 May.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A man appeared in court on Wednesday charged with offences linked to a fatal one vehicle road traffic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25300,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[3929,61,2864,5,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-25299","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uk","8":"tag-co-tyrone","9":"tag-crime","10":"tag-psni","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116489906260571852","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25299\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}