Jurors were today shown a horrifying video of the moment a pensioner was allegedly deliberately run over by an Aberdeen bus driver.
First Bus driver Allan Thomson is on trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court accused of repeatedly assaulting 74-year-old Michael McFadyen before dragging him off the vehicle and “knowingly” driving over him as he lay in the road.
Mr McFadyen’s leg – which witnesses described as looking “shredded” after the incident in Dyce – was later amputated by doctors.
Thomson, 64, is facing one charge of assaulting Mr McFadyen by repeatedly pushing him to the ground, forcing him to the floor of his bus before dragging him along the floor and punching him to the head and body.
He also faces an additional charge of dangerous driving by knowingly driving over Mr McFadyen, which was to the pensioner’s severe injury, permanent impairment, permanent disfigurement and to the danger to his life.
The alleged incident started when Mr McFadyen fell asleep on the First Bus service and missed his stop for Stoneywood.
When the route ended at Asda Dyce Delivery Road, on Riverview Drive, both men argued and Thomson left the driver’s cab.
In CCTV footage, which caused an audible gasp from some jurors, Thomson is seen pushing the OAP off the bus before attempting to close the doors.
As the video continues, Mr McFadyen manages to get to his feet and clambers back through the doors as Thomson starts up the bus again.
The pensioner, visibly angry at being shoved, then attempts to take a picture of Thomson, whereby the bus driver again stops the bus and appears to strike Mr McFadyen, causing the pensioner to fall to the ground.
Thomson – whose address was given in court as Kirkwall Avenue, Aberdeen – is then seen picking up Mr McFadyen’s mobile phone and throwing it off the bus.
McFadyen gets up again and appears to kick Thomson and the two are locked in a fight.
As Thomson breaks free, he jumps back on the bus and kicks at the pensioner as he approaches the bus doors.
They struggle again before McFadyen falls back into the road.
The bus driver then gets back behind the wheel and starts up the engine and is seen driving over Mr McFadyen.
Jurors were shown dashcam footage belonging to driver Alexander Duthie, which showed the horrific moment when the bus drove over the pensioner – first with its front wheels and then its rear wheels.
One witness, Ben Hall, 22, said the bus “lurched up” as it drove over the pensioner.
Mr Hall recounted the moment he and Mr Duthie came upon Mr McFadyen, describing the pensioner’s injuries as “quite severe” and showing “exposed muscle and bone”.
Mr Duthie, who was driving behind the bus at the time, said he saw an altercation between two people before “somebody fell” and the bus moved off, driving over Mr McFadyen in the process.
Running to the pensioner’s aid, Mr Duthie described seeing Mr McFadyen’s leg as “hanging off” and looking like “shredded material”.
He also identified a large smear on the road surface as “flesh and blood”, when quizzed by fiscal depute David Rogers.
‘The pain was something else’
Giving evidence, Mr McFadyen described the pain of being run over as “like something else”.
He stated that he had nightmares for six months following the incident and can no longer walk his dog as a result of his leg being amputated.
During cross-examination, Thomson’s defence solicitor David Sutherland suggested to Mr McFadyen that he had been drunk and had demanded the bus driver return him to his home after he missed his stop.
“I did not demand, I tried to reason with him,” the pensioner replied.
Mr Sutherland also claimed that Mr McFadyen had assaulted Mr Thomson first, sparking the events which followed.
“I never attacked him,” Mr McFadyen said.
The trial, before Sheriff Andrew Miller, continues.
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