A young motorist who knocked down and killed a teenage student with his car had “no chance” of braking in time to avoid the fatal collision, a court heard yesterday
Christopher Huntington is on trial accused of killing 19-year-old Benjamin Land by driving carelessly on August 10, 2013.
Prosecutors claim he was not paying attention to the road ahead of him when he hit Mr Land on the A944 Aberdeen to Westhill road.
The 21-year-old denies the charge against him and claims Mr Land “just stepped out” in front of his car.
The trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court has heard evidence from witnesses who said visibility was poor at the scene of the tragedy because street lights in the area were not working.
The surroundings were described as being “pitch black” when the accident happened at around 4am.
Yesterday former road accident scene investigator for the police, James Brunton, gave evidence on behalf of the defence.
He told the court he had been able to examine the report put together by officers who attended the crash scene and that in his opinion there was “no chance” Mr Huntington would have been able to avoid hitting Mr Land.
He said: “It would appear to me that Mr Land has stepped into the carriageway of Mr Huntington very suddenly and Mr Huntington has not had time to react.
“Mr Huntington had no chance to brake and react prior to the collision.”
He told the court major roadworks in the area at the time would have had a significant part to play in Huntington not being able to see the pedestrian on time.
Mr Brunton said the cones could have masked Mr Land’s position on the road and impaired Huntington’s vision by producing a “glare” effect.
Representing the accused, advocate Steven Love told jurors the incident was just a “tragic accident”.
He urged them to acquit Huntington, of 13 Westfield Gardens, Westhill, and said: “What happened that morning was a tragic accident with awful consequences. Just because there has been an accident does not mean that a driver has been careless.
“It could have happened to any one of us put in the same set of circumstances Mr Huntington found himself in that morning.”
A verdict is expected today.