Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Bus driver gets 5yrs jail19 for crash that killed fan
Rangers supporter from Ulster died on way to match at Ibrox
A BUS driver who caused the death of a Rangers fan from Northern Ireland in a crash has been jailed for five years.
Ryan Baird, 39, was fatally injured when the vehicle overturned on October 1, 2016, on its way to Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow.
Eighteen others were injured, three seriously, when the vehicle toppled over approaching a roundabout on the A76 Kilmarnock to Dumfries road.
Prosecutors said Callum Phillips lost control of the bus carrying members of the Nith Valley Loyal Rangers Supporters’ Club.
It had hit speeds of up to 73mph on a road where the limit is 50mph for buses.
The 49-year-old, from Dalbeattie in Dumfries and Galloway, was convicted by a jury of causing death and injury by dangerous driving.
Mr Baird had been living in Sanquhar, Dumfries and Galloway, but was originally from Larne in Co Antrim.
His funeral was held in the town and the then Rangers manager Mark Warburton was among hundreds of mourners.
Following the crash, Celtic and Rangers issued statements passing on their condolences to Mr Baird’s family and senior officials from the Ibrox club met members of the supporters’ club, while players visited crash victims in hospital.
Passing the five-year sentence at the High Court in Glasgow, judge Lady Stacey told Phillips his driving had fallen “far below the standard required of a careful driver”.
In her sentencing statement, she added: “Your driving caused the death of Ryan Baird.
“Nothing that this court can do or say can lessen the grief his family and friends feel at their loss. You also caused other passengers to suffer serious injuries.”
The judge told Phillips, who had a previous conviction for speeding, while no other vehicle was involved he put other road users at risk.
She said: “Of course you did not deliberately mean to endanger your passengers, but you showed a shocking lack of care in your driving.”
The judge also disqualified Phillips from driving or obtaining a licence for five years.
The statement revealed the court heard the defendant had expressed “genuine remorse” to Mr Baird’s brother and his partner.
Phillips was one of 37 people on board the bus when it skidded, struck and mounted a kerb, crossed over a footway and struck a lamppost before coming to rest on its side on a grass verge.