A journalist whose career was ended when he was knocked down by an uninsured driver was awarded £1 billion compensation yesterday in Belfast. Mr Dundas Keating (32) was crossing Chichester Street, Belfast, in June 1994 when he was hit by a car driven by Robert Morton (36), of Lomond Avenue, Belfast. Morton was sentenced 4 1/2 years imprisonment for reckless driving causing grievous injury.
The £1 million damages plus costs will be paid by the Motor Insurers Bureau, a body set up by the insurance industry to cover uninsured drivers. Mr Keating, who lives in Jordanstown, Co Antrim, suffered brain damage and now uses a wheelchair. At the time of the accident he was a freelance journalist working mostly for the Sunday World.