A plumber was today facing prison after being found guilty of causing a crash that killed a popular north-east teacher.
Yvonne Lumsden’s car was struck head-on by a trailer while she was driving her husband Stuart and their two daughters home to New Deer after a family holiday in London.
The jury at the High Court in Aberdeen returned guilty verdicts to two charges against Raymond Lamb, who was towing the trailer when it became untethered from his truck and swung out into the path of Ms Lumsden’s Volkswagen Polo.
Ms Lumsden’s widower, Stuart, sat through five days of evidence and welcomed the jury’s verdict.
He said: “Justice has been served today.
“It’s been very frustrating. The fact that Mr Lamb failed to take responsibility for his actions – it beggars belief, to be honest.
“The fact that he was still maintaining his innocence, failing to take responsibility and shown no remorse for what he’s done, I think that speaks volumes for his character.
“I knew at the scene of the crash that he hadn’t put the trailer on correctly, so I’m just glad that the jury has come to the same conclusion.
“I can’t stop smiling. It’s just such a weight off my shoulders.”
Asked about the memory of his 35-year-old wife, Mr Lumsden described her as a “loving mum” to her children and “a great wife”.
He added: “She had time for everybody and anybody – as a school teacher she used to joke that the children in her class were her second family.
“She was a stand-up, caring individual who would do anything for anybody.”
Mr Lumsden said he would now sit down with his two daughters, now aged seven and nine, and explain the jury’s verdict.
He said: “I haven’t said anything to the girls so far and I’ll be able to go home and tell them the good news.
“They knew I was going to court but I didn’t tell them the full picture.
“Now, I’ll sit down with them and explain things – that the individual who is responsible for their mum’s death was up in court and that he’s been found guilty.”
The trial heard how Mrs Lumsden, a teacher at Stuartfield School, was returning from London on July 12 2019 when the collision happened on the A948 Auchnagatt to Ellon road.
The court heard that Lamb’s Mitsubishi L200 truck was travelling in the opposite direction to the family when the trailer swung out into their path as they approached.
Mr Lumsden gave evidence last week and said that after the crash Lamb “had his head in his hands as if to say ‘what have I done?’”.
When Mr Lumsden challenged Lamb on whether the trailer had been properly attached, Lamb replied that it had been on “correctly”.
The widower also told the court he saw the trailer and thought it looked “poorly maintained”.
Mr Wallace said that the safety handle had not been “engaged” by Lamb prior to setting off.
“If he had just pushed the handle down Mrs Lumsden would have got home and none of us would be here today,” Mr Wallace told the jury.
He also said the trailer had decayed to such a degree that the collision left rust debris strewn all across the road.
‘She will be a huge loss to her family’
After delivering the guilty verdict, handed down by a majority of the jury, Judge Alistair Watson told Lamb: “You have been found guilty of very serious charges.
“You have been found guilty of an act of gross negligence that in effect caused the death of a young mother who had her whole life ahead of her.
“She will be a huge loss to her family and that will have to be reflected in the sentencing.”
Judge Watson, who granted bail to Lamb, deferred sentencing on him until next month in order for a criminal justice social work report to be carried out.
He also disqualified Lamb from driving.
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