A van driver accused of killing a cyclist broke down as he told a court he could only remember hearing a “bang”.
Christopher Morrison wept as he gave evidence at his trial at Peterhead Sheriff Court.
The court heard how Robert Cowie had been cycling southbound on the A90 near the turn-off to Stirlinghill Quarry on December 2, 2020.
The 52-year-old died after being struck by Morrison’s VW Crafter van and then falling into the path of another car.
Morrison, 41, denies causing the death of Mr Cowie by driving carelessly.
Morrison took to the stand on day three of his trial and described the moment he knocked Robert Cowie off his bike.
In emotionally charged testimony, he told the jury that he has not wanted to drive since and has been kept on as a storeman by his employer following the accident.
When questioned about the day Mr Cowie died by defence agent David Nicolson, Morrison said: “The sun glare was instantaneous – I heard a bang and saw the wing mirror was off”.
Clicking his fingers to illustrate that snap moment, he added: “Just like that it changed – the sun hit my eyes, then there was the bang.
“There was no cycle in front of me as far as I could see. The road had looked fine and clear up until the bend.”
Mr Nicolson asked him why he hadn’t slowed down, and Morrison replied: “I didn’t have time.”
He was also asked how he felt about causing the death of Mr Cowie and said: “Very upset.”
‘I didn’t see him that day because of the sun’
Under cross-examination by fiscal depute Neil MacDonald, Morrison was asked why had hadn’t changed his speed given the bright sun conditions.
He replied: “I thought I was perfectly safe. There was nothing that would affect me drastically.”
Mr MacDonald asked how it had been that cars driving ahead of his van had managed to see Mr Cowie on his bike and overtook him safely.
“They had a better chance to see him maybe,” Morrison replied. “I didn’t see him that day because of the sun. Maybe it was bouncing off his high-vis vest – I don’t know.”
Mr Macdonald again asked how the Tesco van in front had managed to pass Mr Cowie without hitting him and he replied: “He was ahead of me. He got lucky just like everybody else – and it’s me who is standing here today.”
The defence called an expert witness, Stuart Blackwood of Arc Investigations, who spoke to a report he had produced following the fatal accident.
Dash-cam footage shown
Mr Blackwood conceded that he had not had access to all the dash-cam footage used in police crash reports and was unable to close the section of road to carry out laser measurements as he “would have liked”.
However, he told the court that he did not think the front of Morrison’s van had contacted Mr Cowie as it would be “physically impossible” for his bike to have remained upright to have caused the black marks on the side.
The court was shown dash-cam footage from a Tesco van which had overtaken Mr Cowie less than a minute before Morrison knocked him off his bike.
Mr MacDonald suggested that the sun was “quite obvious” and “bright” in the middle of the screen and asked Mr Blackwood if it would have changed position in the time when Morrison would have driven on the same stretch of road.
Mr Blackwood replied: “Not substantially.”
The trial, being heard by Sheriff Philip Mann, is expected to conclude today.
