A speeding driver has admitted causing the death of a retired farmer in a smash on a country road.
James Hilton, 24, overtook two cars on the approach to a corner on the A920 Huntly to Dufftown road as he tried to catch up with a friend on March 7, 2015.
His vehicle collided head on with a Ford Fiesta travelling the other way, seriously injuring Patrick Pirie who was travelling home from a farmer’s mart in nearby Huntly.
Grandfather-of-10 Mr Pirie was rushed to Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin for treatment but died as a result of chest injuries.
Hilton – who had been visiting his own grandfather at a hospital in Aberlour shortly before the collision – admitted causing the 81-year-old’s death by driving dangerously at excessive speed for the road conditions yesterday.
At the High Court in Aberdeen, advocate depute William McVicar said Hilton overtook two vehicles at speed and carried out this manoeuvre when he had “insufficient view of oncoming vehicles”.
A witness travelling in another car saw the collision happen at Corsemaul, about six miles from Dufftown.
Mr McVicar said Mr Pirie, of Convalmore, had been in “generally good health” and was “still an active individual”.
Hilton, who was driving a white Renault Twingo, suffered a fractured pelvis and elbow and continues to have mobility difficulties with his right arm.
The court heard that police collision investigators ruled that Hilton had either failed to allow enough time to make sure that oncoming vehicles were cleared of obscured areas or did not appreciate the distance needed to carry out the overtaking manoeuvre.
Mr McVicar added: “It should have been obvious to him that this driving would be dangerous.”
He told the court that Hilton, of Grandholm Crescent, Aberdeen, had one previous conviction, a speeding offence from December 2011.
Defence lawyer Tony Lenehan said his client had believed the road to be clear in front of him.
He acknowledged that his client’s driving before the crash did not show him in a good light and said he was “enthused with the joy of driving”.
Mr Lenehan said: “The enormity of the harm that he has done is in no way lost upon Mr Hilton and he implores me to extend his apologies to those who have most greatly been affected by it.”
Sentence was deferred for background reports until May 16 at the High Court in Edinburgh.
After his death, Mr Pirie’s family said he was “quite a character” and a devoted family man, whose lifelong passion was farming.
