A young driver accused of causing the deaths of four teenagers in a road smash faces the possibility of a retrial after a jury failed to agree if he was guilty of a charge of causing death by dangerous driving.
Despite their inability to agree on the more serious charge, the jury did convict the 21-year-old of driving without motor insurance, meaning that he is guaranteed to lose his right to a cheap car insurance deal.
Kurtis Armstrong was driving when the crash occurred in February 2004 near Ligoniel in Northern Ireland. He was the only person to escape alive from the wreckage of his Vauxhall Corsa, and was arrested shortly after on the suspicion that he had been driving at excessive speed when he lost control.
After a highly publicised trial at Antrim Crown Court, the foreman told Judge David Smyth that the jury were in "complete disagreement" and there was no possibility of them reaching a majority verdict in the case.
The judge released Armstrong on bail and told him the Public Prosecution Service will decide in the near future if a retrial is required.
Mike Page from Hoot Car Insurance Services, the young driver car insurance experts, commented, "Anyone convicted of driving without motor insurance will find it tough to get a cheap car insurance deal, and if you're also found guilty of dangerous driving I imagine the price will go through the roof."