A Moray dad was left in a coma for seven months and now needs round-the-clock care after being knocked down by a careless driver.
Richard Nutland suffered severe brain injuries in the accident and has spent more than a year-and-a-half in hospital.
Yesterday, cabbie Colin Jones was found guilty of careless driving and fined £500.
The 54-year-old also had six penalty points added to his licence after being convicted at the end of a trial at Elgin Sheriff Court.
Mr Nutland was knocked down by the taxi driver’s Skoda as he crossed Elgin’s Linkwood Way after finishing his shift as a night porter at the nearby Premier Inn hotel.
The 49-year-old was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and now requires 24-hour-a-day nursing and is fed by a tube.
Last night, Mr Nutland’s family said their lives had been “turned upside” down since the accident, which happened around 3.40am on April 26 last year.
Wife Linda Mackenzie, 54, said: “It’s only recently that he’s begun speaking again, but it’s only random words, they don’t make sense.
“When we go in it’s as if he doesn’t recognise any of us. He possibly doesn’t even remember any of us. We know he’s never going to get back to the way he was.
“I feel the guilty verdict is good but it isn’t going to make any difference to Richard. He’s got no quality of life now.”
The dad-of-two was moved from ARI to Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin in November last year before being transferred to Woodend in Aberdeen for rehabilitation and then Buckie’s Seafield Hospital.
His wife and the couple’s children April, 17, and Luke, 15, visit him daily.
Mrs Mackenzie had to give up her job as a carer following the accident, and last night paid tribute to her children’s strength and the way they had kept up with their school work.
Now the family are searching for a permanent home for Mr Nutland.
Mrs Mackenzie said: “The staff at Seafield are brilliant but it’s not the right place for him now.
“We’ve been looking for a place where he can get round-the-clock rehabilitation but they are hard to find.”
Daughter April said: “It’s been very difficult. It’s been tough to keep going to the hospital. We’re told not to worry about where he’s going to go, but it is a worry.”
Mr Nutland has undergone a series of operations in an attempt to restore as much of his life as possible.
At one point half of his skull was removed to allow surgeons to perform brain surgery.
A stroke suffered during his recovery has left him paralysed down one side of his body.
Jones, of Glenlossie Road, Thomshill, was found guilty of driving carelessly at the junction of Linkwood Way and East Road, failing to maintain proper observations of the road, and colliding with Mr Nutland, leaving him severely injured and permanently impaired.
He was not available to comment at his home last night.
