A young mum broke down in court as she was spared jail for causing the death of a teenage motorcyclist in Aberdeen.
Distraught Lisa Robertson shook uncontrollably as she was ordered to carry out 200 hours of community service after pleading guilty to driving carelessly and into the path of Terry Crook, 18.
The life of Robertson, who was pregnant at the time of the accident two years ago, had been “devastated” over the fatal crash, Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard.
Last night, Mr Crook’s mother, Beverley Lonie, said she forgave the woman who caused the death of her son.
Ms Lonie, 51, came face-to-face in court with Robertson when she entered her guilty plea last month.
She said: “I tapped her on the shoulder and she turned round. We gave each other a big hug – I just had to hold her,” she said.
“She didn’t want to let go of me and I didn’t want to let go of her.
“She said ‘I’m so sorry’, and I wanted her to know that I forgave her.”
Ms Lonie said she dreads to think what impact the accident has had on Robertson’s life.
“I want her to put this to the back of her head and carry on with her life,” she said.
“I can’t imagine what it’s like living each day knowing what happened, and I don’t want her to feel any worse knowing that someone hates her for it too.
“I feel sad because I haven’t got Terry anymore, but I also don’t want anyone to feel the way I do.
“She knows I have no ill feeling towards her, and she knows that I want her to get on with her life.
“When she is having a down day, I hope she remembers that.”
The court heard how Mr Crook suffered fatal injuries on July 16, 2013, when the blue Yamaha motorcycle he was riding was hit by Robertson’s car on Aberdeen’s Provost Rust Drive.
Mr Crook, who did not have a bike licence or insurance for the machine, was thrown more than 50ft through the air by the force of the impact.
He suffered massive head injuries after his helmet flew off and he was later pronounced dead at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
His 16-year-old girlfriend Jenna Gaudie, who was riding pillion on the bike, was also thrown through the air and landed more than 100ft away.
She survived the crash but suffered multiple serious injuries.
Robertson, of 5 Louden Place, Aberdeen, yesterday threw up in the dock as she waited for her sentence to be passed.
Sheriff Alison Stirling said she believed Robertson’s culpability to be at the lower end of the scale.
She ordered her to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work within the next year. She was also banned from the roads for 30 months.
The sheriff said the punishment was a direct alternative to a prison sentence.