A survivor of a fatal A96 crash that claimed the lives of five people, including his wife, told a court today that the vehicle he was travelling in was on the wrong side of the road.
Francesco Patane was a front seat passenger in a minibus being driven by Alfredo Ciociola as they travelled with their wives and the driver’s two young sons towards Inverness on a touring holiday of Scotland.
Ciociola. 50, is standing trial at the High Court in Edinburgh accused of death by dangerous driving.
Mr Patane, 74, told the jury that Ciociola had seemed “relaxed and perfectly fine at the wheel” but he did have concerns about the road, including a lot of bends.
Advocate depute Derick Nelson asked him if there was anything about the manner of driving that gave him any cause for concern as they headed towards Inverness from Stonehaven and he replied: “No, never, no worries.”
But in the seconds before the collision, Mr Patane, who gave his evidence through an Italian interpreter, said he appreciated that the vehicle was in the wrong carriageway.
The prosecutor asked if he said anything to Ciociola and he said: “There was no time for that.
“I shouted. I shouted because I saw the lights of the car coming. It was a terrible impact, that’s why I shouted.”
Mr Patane was asked if Ciociola had reacted in any way to his shout and said: “There was no time. There was not enough time for that.”
Driver denies charges
He said that after the collision he tried to call his wife Frances, 63, but she was not responding.
She was later placed on a stretcher after the emergency services arrived but did not look like she was alive, he added.
Italian holidaymaker Ciociola, 50, has denied causing the deaths of his son four-year-old Lorenzo and Frances Saliba, as well as Edward Reid, Audrey Appleby and Evalyn Collie, who were all passengers in the other car, by driving dangerously on July 26 in 2018.
It is alleged that on the A96 near Keith he failed to pay proper attention to the road ahead, fell asleep, repeatedly braked and drove onto the opposing carriageway and collided with a car driven by Morag Smith.
The court heard that Mr Reid and Ms Appleby died from chest injuries. Ms Collie, Ms Saliba and Lorenzo died from multiple injuries.
Ciociola’s wife Concetta Passanisi, who was also a passenger in the minibus, also suffered injuries that were severe, permanently disfiguring and will cause permanent impairment.
Roadtrip turns to tragedy
Jurors were told in agreed evidence that she was treated at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary until September 24 in 2018. She remained unconscious throughout. She was subsequently flown back to a hospital in Italy and later regained consciousness, but suffered significant memory loss.
Mr Patane, a retired chemical plant technician who now lives in Malta, said the holidaymakers had arrived in Edinburgh from Sicily.
They had intended to travel north from the Scottish capital to see Dunnottar Castle and then on to Inverness. They had then planned to take in Orkney, Argyll and Loch Lomond before returning to Edinburgh with Ciociola as driver of their hire vehicle.
They left their hotel in Edinburgh about 9am on July 26 and stopped at a castle before travelling on to Dunnottar and then having food in Stonehaven.
They then set off for Inverness from Stonehaven about 9pm, when Mr Patane said there was still a lit bit of light in the sky but it was already getting dark. The collision occurred shortly before midnight.
The trial before Lord Mulholland continues.
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