A LAWYER has been cleared of causing the deaths of three people in a horrific car crash – but is now facing civil action by the family of one of the victims.
Andrew Houston’s wife and daughter and German tourist Mohammad Hayajneh all died in the smash on the notorious A9.
Yesterday, after a four-day trial at Inverness Sheriff Court, a jury found the 48-year-old lawyer guilty of careless driving.
But he was cleared of causing the deaths of his wife Abigail, seven-year-old daughter Mia and GP Dr Hayajneh.
Houston was fined £1,000 and banned from driving for a year by Sheriff David Sutherland.
But in emotional scenes outside court after the verdict Dr Hayajneh’s widow Ursula, 59, and son Jonas criticised the “illogical and irrational” decision.
Mr Hayajneh, 22, said: “We are shocked at this verdict and believe that justice has not been done for our father and husband.
“We don’t feel hatred towards Mr Houston and at no point did we want him to go to prison.
“But we wanted him to be found guilty since all the evidence suggested he was and we are convinced this tragedy could have been avoided.
“We now face the prospect of never gaining proper closure. The jury concluded that Mr Houston was on the wrong side of the road due to careless driving but that he didn’t cause the accident because of careless driving since he unsuccessfully tried to get back on the proper side of the road at the last moment.
“This verdict is irrational and illogical.”
Now the family will pursue a civil action against solicitor advocate Houston, of Wardie Avenue, Edinburgh.
He made no comment as he left the court with his wife’s mother and sister.
But his counsel, Frances McMenamin QC, said after the guilty verdict: “His mother and sister-in-law have been fully supportive of my client since the tragedy and it hardly needs saying that Mr Houston will always carry the burden of the loss of all those lives and knows the grief and loss to others.
“It has taken its toll on him both emotionally and physically and he has found it psychologically difficult to cope with.
“He expresses his inevitable sadness for what this loss has meant to others.”
Miss McMenamin mentioned Houston’s 12-year-old daughter Lily, who was severely injured in the head-on collision between his Audi A4 and Mrs Hayajneh’s Jeep Cherokee on July 9, 2013.
She added: “He is still in practice and his mother-in-law is almost resident in his house on a daily basis while he is at work so she can look after Lily.”
During the trial, Houston and Mrs Hayajneh frequently broke down as the evidence was led.
And Mrs Hayajneh could not control her anger and leapt to her feet after Miss McMenamin asked the jury to find her client guilty of careless driving only.
The jury agreed with her submission that Houston’s careless driving by crossing into the opposite carriageway ended when he tried to return to the correct lane before crashing into the Jeep.
It was five months before the solicitor advocate was fit enough to be interviewed by police about the tragedy.
But he told officers could not remember how it happened, only a loud bang “and the horrid aftermath”.
