Belfast: Man appears in court charged with causing death by dangerous driving

The court heard that on 16 July a 999 call was made from York Street and that a white Mazda car was found resting on the footpath against a wall.

Police told the court that “the driver was captured on CCTV leaving the scene on foot”.

The court also heard that the defendant’s mother had received a call from him, in which the defendant said he was suicidal.

A pre-prepared statement was read out to the court in which Donaldson said he accepted what had happened and was having a mental health crisis.

Through the pre-prepared statement read out in court Donaldson said: “I have to express remorse to the families, it was never my intention to cause anyone harm expect myself.

“I accept I am responsible for what happened. I was experiencing a mental health crisis both at the time and afterwards”.

Police told the court that they felt bail was unsuitable because Donaldson posed “a risk to himself and the wider community”.

An officer told the court police were “also not confident he (Donaldson) could be managed on bail given his mental health issues”.

The judge told the court that he could see “the state” that Donaldson was in and said he could see that he is remorseful.

The judge told the court that Donaldson also left the scene and that he felt the police were not unreasonable saying they feared bail could not be adequately managed.

The accused was remanded in custody and is due to appear in court again in 4 weeks.