An Italian tourist has been jailed after a court convicted him of causing the deaths of five people, including his four-year-old son, in a horrific crash on the A96.
Alfredo Ciociola was driving a Fiat minibus on the wrong side of the road when he collided with a Nissan SUV at the Drummuir junction on the A96 near Keith.
His son Lorenzo, aged four, died in the tragedy along with a rear passenger in his vehicle, 63-year-old Maltese woman Frances Saliba.
Her husband Francesco Patane was seriously injured along with Ciociola’s wife Concetta, who was also in the back with her children.
His younger son Frederico, then aged three, escaped with minor injuries.
But the driver of the SUV, 44-year-old Morag Smith, was also severely injured.
Her three passengers 63-year-old Edward Reid, known as Ted, Evalyn Collie, 69, and Audrey Appleby, 70, all died following the crash.
They had been returning home from a line dancing session in Elgin.
Ciociola, 50, an officer with the Italian Coast guard, was also injured.
He had denied causing the deaths by driving dangerously on the A96 on July 26 2018.
But a jury today convicted him of the lesser offence of causing the deaths by careless driving and deleted allegations that he had fallen asleep and repeatedly braked from the charge.
Ciociola failed to pay proper attention to the road ahead and drove into the opposing carriageway before the collision.
Ciociola failed to appear for a trial
A judge told him at the High Court in Edinburgh: “You have been convicted of a serious charge, involving the deaths of five people, including your own son, and the serious injury of three people. It is a very serious matter.”
Lord Mulholland told jurors it was a “very anxious” case with tragic consequences for a number of people.
He ordered that Ciociola be remanded in custody for the preparation of a background report ahead of sentencing next month.
The court heard that Ciociola, from Syracusa in Sicily, was granted bail by a Scottish court in 2019 but failed to appear for a trial last year.
A court in Sicily instructed his extradition to Scotland and despite an appeal against that ruling his return was ordered by a supreme court on the Italian island.
During his trial, Ciociola maintained he was well rested as he acted as the sole driver for the group of visitors while they travelled north from Edinburgh to Inverness.
The court previously heard they left Stonehaven on the final leg of their journey at around 9pm and the crash occurred just before midnight.
He said that he and his wife, who has had another son since the collision, had planned to get car seats for the two boys in Inverness after failing to get them in Edinburgh.
Ciociola said he did not know if everyone in the vehicle had seat belts on when he left Stonehaven.
Collision investigators found that those in the rear of the minibus did not have their seat belts engaged.
He told the High Court in Edinburgh: “We drove for two hours, we rested for two hours and we did the same throughout the journey, so I was rested.”
He said he did not know anything about the A96 but was surprised by it and found it to be a “very dangerous” road.
‘I tried to be as cautious as I could’
Ciociola said, through an interpreter: “I tried to be as cautious as I could. I tried to pay attention to everything around me as much as I could.”
He said that, as they were approaching the collision site on a bend shortly before midnight, he had asked his wife – who was in the rear with the children – if one of their sons was sleeping.
Ciociola said she did not reply and he looked in his rearview mirror, but could not see anything.
He said: “I had seen the other car and it was just in front of me when it overcame the bend.”
He said the headlights were “very strong” and he became disorientated.
He added: “I was sure, I was convinced that we were on the same line and instinctively I went to the right.”
Ciociola said he had very limited previous experience of driving in Scotland.
He told the court: “I have been driving on the right for over 30 years. It is not very easy to get accustomed to driving on the left.”
‘Pain of the families is also my pain’
His defence counsel Ian Duguid QC asked him how he felt when he learnt that three people had died in the car he struck and he said: “It is the most terrible thing that you can hear and the pain of the families is also my pain.”
Prosecutor Derick Nelson asked him if he realised that Scotland, particularly rural Scotland, was different from much of the rest of the UK.
He replied: “Now I know.”
He told the court: “I was not very familiar with the places we were visiting.”
He said that part of the trip from Edinburgh to Glamis was dual carriageway and added: “I thought the whole road was going to be the same.”
Mr Patane, 74, who was the front seat passenger in the minibus, said he realised that the vehicle was travelling in the wrong carriageway before the “terrible impact” occurred.
He said Ciociola had seemed “relaxed and perfectly fine at the wheel” during the journey, but he did have concerns about the road.
But he said he appreciated that, prior to the collision, they were in the wrong lane.
He said: “I shouted because I saw the lights of the car coming.”
He was asked if Ciociola had reacted to his shout but said: “There was no time. There was not enough time for that.”
Crash survivor reacts to conviction
In a statement released through Digby Brown Solicitors, Morag Smith commented on Ciociola’s conviction.
She said: “For the last four years Ciociola has never taken responsibility for his actions.
“I know he didn’t set out that day to kill anyone but he made such huge mistakes that it would fly in the face of justice and basic decency to let him walk free – that’s also why I never understood why he was even allowed to return home on bail.
“I, therefore, believe he deserves jail time but even if he is, no length of time behind bars will compare to what we have suffered.”
‘I struggle to take any positive from today’s outcome’
She added: “I suffered life-changing injuries and the loved ones of my partner and friends were forced to accept untimely losses.
“I struggle to take any positive from today’s outcome other than I can finally focus on my recovery, on my grief and on rebuilding some kind of future without the stress of a delayed prosecution hanging over me.
“Finally I would just like to thank everyone who has supported me since the accident and for the emergency services for their actions that night who I owe my life to.”
Ciociola, who was remanded in custody, will be sentenced on December 13 at the High Court in Glasgow, following consideration of background reports.
For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen as well as crime and breaking incidents, join our Facebook group.
