A driver whose faulty trailer killed a north-east primary school teacher when it came away from his vehicle has been jailed for two years.
Raymond Lamb was today described by a judge as being “grossly negligent” following the death of Yvonne Lumsden, 35, on July 12 2019.
The 31-year-old plumber was on the road in his Mitsubishi L200 pick-up while towing a trailer which had a defective braking system and attachment.
It eventually came off the vehicle before smashing into Yvonne’s Volkswagen Polo on the A948 near Ellon.
The mum, who was driving her family back from holiday, suffered fatal injuries while her husband Stuart Lumsden and two young children were also hurt.
At the time of Yvonne’s death, sympathy cards were left alongside flowers and candles at the gates of Stuartfield School, where one family described the New Deer mum as a “kind, cherished teacher taken too soon”.
Lamb was today sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow.
Mr Lamb had earlier been convicted after a trial in Aberdeen of causing death by dangerous driving and having no valid insurance for the pick-up.
Judge Alistair Watson told Lamb it was must have been “obvious” when he attached the trailer that day its condition was “extremely poor”.
He said: “Ultimately you were grossly negligent. It is inescapable that it is your fault that Mrs Lumsden died.”
As well as the jail-term, Lamb, of Peterhead, was banned from the road for five years.
He looked on the verge of tears as he was lead handcuffed to the cells.
Yvonne’s husband had told jurors how they had been returning from a trip to London when tragedy struck.
The 35-year-old described a “clatter” before a “heavy duty” trailer ended up in front of their car.
Stuart added: “It hit us head on at my wife’s side of the vehicle.
“The bairns were screaming in the back. The dashboard was at shoulder height and I could not see much of my wife.”
He checked the children then spotted blood coming from Yvonne’s ear and immediately jumped out to try and help her.
Stuart recalled: “I could not get the door open, but could see through the broken window that the steering wheel was up against her throat.
“She was not responsive.”
Lamb ‘thinks about the incident every day’
Stuart was so traumatised he needed the help of another man to dial 999.
Yvonne was eventually freed, but died in hospital having suffered severe head injuries.
The court heard today Lamb maintained he “attached the trailer properly and correctly” at a relative’s farm.
David Moggach, defending, added: “He had struggled to come to terms with the tragic consequences. He thinks about the incident every day”.
The advocate also said Lamb had stayed at the scene that day to try and offer help.
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