A crash investigator broke down in tears describing the moment a cyclist was pulled under a car following a collision with a van.
Pc Fay MacLeod was giving evidence at the Peterhead trial of Christopher Morrison, who denies causing the death of Boddam man Robert Cowie by driving carelessly.
The jury heard how Morrison, a 41-year-old delivery driver, struck Mr Cowie on the A90 Aberdeen to Peterhead road near the junction to Stirlinghill Quarry on December 2, 2020.
Pc MacLeod told the town’s sheriff court that “clean marks” were found on the front passenger headlight of Morrison’s white Volkswagen Crafter van, indicating that something wiped the area clean of dirt as a result of making contact.
Further “black rubber-like marks” were also reported down the side of the van matching the height of Mr Cowie’s black handlebar covers, the court heard.
The court was also shown a photo of Mr Cowie’s high-vis orange jacket in which dirt and grime marks were visible.
Emotional evidence
The officer broke down and wept while reading her report conclusions, which said Mr Cowie, 52, had gone under the wheel of the Seat car being driven by Catherine Thomson.
She said: “The front near side of the car had collided with the deceased, causing the plastic bumper to snap. The front nearside wheel was driven over the deceased’s body, pulling him under the car.”
Stills taken from dash-cam footage of a van travelling on the northbound side of the road were shown to the jury and captured the moment Mr Cowie was struck by Morrison’s van.
Mrs MacLeod explained that, along with a colleague, she had prepared two reports and a scale plan of the collision.
She described finding fragments of a cycle helmet and blood around Mr Cowie’s bike, alongside pieces of a wing mirror housing on the grass verge.
Cyclist hit with ‘glancing blow’
Mrs Macleod told the court her findings concluded that “the collision occurred as a result of the van failing to see the deceased”.
She added Morrison had failed to leave enough room or reduce his speed because of the low sunlight and could have been distracted or inattentive.
Under cross-examination from defence agent David Nicolson, she was asked if Mr Cowie had hit the van or if the van had hit Mr Cowie.
Mrs MacLeod replied: “The cleaning marks on the front of the van would say it had hit the bike.”
It had been a “glancing blow”, she added.
The court also heard from two drivers, who were seconds ahead of Morrison’s van.
They said they had both seen Mr Cowie cycling up the hill towards the Stirlinghill Quarry junction and had both overtaken him safely.
One of them, Marie Mackie, of Cruden Bay, was travelling home with her daughter and was driving the car directly in front of Morrison.
Other driver’s concern for cyclist
She told the court that the sun had been “blinding” but that she had spotted Mr Cowie wearing a high-vis top, adding: “I could see the sun glaring off his jacket.”
Mrs Mackie then described overtaking the cyclist and feeling “concerned for his safety”.
She said: “I looked in my rear-view mirror and kept looking to see if the van behind would overtake him then I said to my daughter ‘he’s hit him, he’s hit him’. It seemed like an age before the van stopped.”
Morrison, of Hilton Drive, Aberdeen, is facing one charge of death by careless driving, alleging he wasn’t paying enough attention to the road or adverse weather conditions prior to hitting Mr Cowie.
The trial, being heard by Sheriff Philip Mann, continues.
