Pedestrian Paul Marshall was hit by a vehicle driven by John Taggart and died a week after the incident in hospital
A 36-year old man today (Thursday) admitted causing the death of a pensioner who died a week after being struck by a van in west Belfast.
Pedestrian Paul Marshall, 70, was hit by a vehicle driven by John Taggart in the Millfield junction area of the city last September.
He was rushed to the Royal Victoria Hospital and passed away a week after the incident.
Last month, the driver of the van, John Taggart, appeared in Belfast Crown Court, where he denied a charge of causing the death of Mr Marshall by driving dangerously on September 2, 2024.
Taggart was also charged with, and denied, causing the death of Paul Marshall by driving without due care and attention and consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in his breath exceeded the prescribed limited.
From Torrens Link, he was back in court today where his barrister Gary McHugh KC asked that Taggart be re-arraigned.
When the charge of causing Mr Marshall’s death by driving dangerously within the vicinity of Divis Street, Castle Street and Millfield junction in Belfast was put to him again, Taggart replied “guilty.”
A new charge of driving with excess alcohol on September 2, 2024 was also put to Taggart and when asked by a court clerk how he pleaded to this offence, he answered “guilty.”
As a result of his pleas, Crown barrister David McNeill asked that the charge of causing the death of Paul Marshall by driving without due care and attention and consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in his breath exceeded the prescribed limited was to be ‘left on the books’ and not proceeded with.
After agreeing to leave this charge ‘on the books’, Judge Gordon Kerr KC ordered a pre-sentence report by compiled on Taggart.
He listed the case for plea and sentence on January 15, 2026 and released Taggart on continuing bail.
Although no details of the fatal collision emerged today, when Taggart appeared in court last month his barrister told the court that Taggart claimed “there was another vehicle that carried out a manoeuvre in front of the defendant and he swerved to the left” and that “no blame at all” was being attributed to Mr Marshall.
Regarding the alcohol aspect, Taggart claimed that on the day in question, he was sipping from a bottle of juice which he had taken from his home and which he was unaware contained alcohol.
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