A man has gone on trial accused of causing the death of a refuse collector by driving dangerously on a country road.
William Buchan died following a collision between the council work vehicle he was driving and a van on the A90 Aberdeen to Fraserburgh road in May 2016.
Craig Ross went on trial yesterday accused of causing his death by crossing the middle of the road and driving into the path of the refuse collection vehicle.
The court heard the 29-year-old had been working as a refrigeration engineer at Integral Ltd and had been travelling in a company van from Morrisons supermarket in Peterhead to the King Street store in Aberdeen where he had been due to give a health and safety talk.
Scott McVicar told the jurors he had been driving behind the Aberdeenshire Council employee when he noticed a van travelling in the opposite direction come onto his side of the road near Hatton.
The 41-year-old said the van was “fully on our side of the road” and he realised “something was not right.”
He told the court: “The two vehicles hit each other head on.”
Mr McVicar said he got out of his own vehicle, phoned the emergency services and noticed that the 48-year-old refuse collector did not appear to be conscious.
The court later heard from Alexander Fraser, Ross’s line manager at Integral Ltd, who had seen his colleague in Peterhead and was due to meet him in later Aberdeen.
He told the jury of eight women and seven men that the company vans contained gas canisters.
When asked how Ross was when he met him in the morning in Peterhead, he described his colleague as being “fresh” and “cracking jokes”.
Advocate depute Alan Cameron asked him what he would do if one of the gas canisters began to leak while he was driving.
He said: “I would pull over, get into the van and shut the bottle.
“I would also check the others to make sure they were closed as well and would probably leave the doors open for a few moments.”
Police Sergeant Peter Henderson, who served as the collision investigator, also gave evidence during the trial at the High Court in Aberdeen yesterday.
He was asked whether there were any defects in the road, vehicle or weather conditions which could have contributed to the van going on to the wrong side of the road. He told the court that there were no defects found.
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Following this defence advocate Jonathan Crowe asked him whether he had considered if an outburst from the gas canisters could be considered a reason to explain the vehicle being on the other carriageway.
He replied: “No.”
Mr Crowe then asked: “Why not?”
He said: “It wasn’t considered as a potential cause of loss of control of the vehicle.”
Ross, of Fara Close in Aberdeen, denies the charge against him.
The trial, before Lord Burns, continues.
