A Stonehaven pensioner has been fined £4,000 after causing the death of a father-of-three in a tragic collision on the A92.
Christopher Reid suffered catastrophic injuries when he was thrown from his motorbike in the crash at the Bridge of Muchalls junction.
Despite frantic efforts to save his life, the 47-year-old was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary in July last year.
Now, Stella Connolly, 77, has appeared in court and pled guilty to causing his death by careless driving.
Passenger screamed ‘bike!’
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard the incident happened around 4.25pm on July 30 2022.
Connolly, driving a white Vauxhall Mokka, crossed from the southbound carriageway onto the northbound one while negotiating the junction.
However, in doing so, she failed to give enough time and space to Mr Reid, who was travelling north on his blue and black Yamaha MT-03 motorcycle.
The biker collided with the front, nearside of Connolly’s car, causing him to be thrown from his bike and suffer significant internal injuries which, tragically, he did not survive.
Witnesses described seeing the white Vauxhall performing a right turn, crossing onto the northbound carriageway into the path of Mr Reid.
Mr Reid tried to take evasive action by braking heavily and steering to his offside, but he had insufficient time and distance to avoid the collision.
Several witnesses stopped to help and Mr Reid was given first aid until emergency services arrived.
He was rushed to hospital by ambulance but pronounced dead on arrival.
Sheriff calls incident ‘tragic’
In a statement to police, Connolly described the road as “very fast” and said she is “very cautious and always takes great care when crossing”.
Connolly went on to state she came to a complete stop, looked left and saw a car passing.
After it passed, she looked again, and it was clear, so she started to cross.
As she did so, her daughter, a front-seat passenger, shouted “bike” and there was a collision.
Crash investigators determined that Mr Reid had been travelling at 34mph at the point where a tyre mark indicated he applied the brakes in response to Connolly’s car blocking his path.
Investigators concluded that absolutely no blame could be attributed to Mr Reid.
They were of the view the collision was a direct result of Connolly failing to give way to Mr Reid either by failing to spot him or failing to appreciate his speed and distance from the junction.
Connolly, of Bridge of Muchalls, Stonehaven, pled guilty to causing death by careless driving.
The court heard Connolly, who is retired, had no previous convictions.
Sheriff Morag McLaughlin described the incident as “tragic” and ordered Connolly to pay a £4,000 fine and complete 200 hours of unpaid work.
She also banned her from driving for two years as an alternative to prison.
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