I tried to return to rallying ..it never felt the same
INQUEST RACER RELIVES DEATH CRASH Driver quit sport he loved after tragic accident at Highland event
A RALLY driver has told how his car somersaulted through the air in a horror crash which left a spectator dead. Graeme Schoneville, 31, was behind the wheel of a Honda Civic at the Snowman Rally, in Glen Urquhart Forest near Inverness, in February 2013, when he lost control. He described how his back wheel struck a rock along the gravel, tree-lined track – sending the vehicle into a spin. As he escaped the car, he became aware of spectators trying to lift it up. Trapped underneath was Joy Robson, 51, who later died. Graeme, who said he has now given up rallying, spoke at a fatal accident inquiry held at Edinburgh Sheriff Court. Along with Joy’s death, the inquiry – which is due to last several weeks – is examining three fatalities at the Jim Clark Rally in 2014. Iain Provan, Elizabeth Allan and Len Stern lost their lives while watching the rally near Coldstream in the Borders.
Graeme added: “We came to a corner and the road surface changed. The car began to slide but I’ve experienced that plenty of times. I tried to correct the slide and the car swung in the other direction and impacted a rock.
“There was a loud bang on the back left of the car and it somersaulted in the air. I can remember it rolling, seeing dark then sky, dark then sky. The car landed upright on four wheels on the left-hand side of the road, in among small trees.”
Crowd members rushed to help and as the driver’s door had been damaged, Graeme and co-driver Michael Hendry, 26, an engineer from Speyside, escaped out the passenger side. Neither was injured.
Motor trade worker Graeme, from Lanarkshire, said there was then a “commotion” as it became apparent “somebody was potentially under the car”. He said he was aware of spectators lifting the car.
Nursery teacher Joy, from Skye, died from multiple injuries. An eight-year-old boy was also struck but survived.
Asked about spectators lining the track, Graeme said there had been a “lot” that day. He was then asked if they were too close and he replied: “Obviously in hindsight it wasn’t safe.”
He added that people on the outside of a corner were in the “wrong place”.
Earlier Michael Hossack, 36, who filmed the event, said marshals had tried to move spectators from unsafe positions.