Man, 33, found guilty of killing passengers in horror smash

A CRAZED driver killed his brother and two other passengers after he ploughed into a monument wall.

Samuel Williamson, 33, was behind the wheel of a Vauxhall Astra convertible which went airborne in Bothwell on December 4, 2020.

Williamson had a cocktail of drink and drugs in his system before the horror crash which claimed the lives of sibling James Williamson, 37, Mandy McCallum, 30, and Ernest Beveridge, 62.

James Williamson and Miss McCallum were thrown from the car as it was propelled off of the wall and a tree on Hamilton Road.

Williamson initially stated that he was not the driver of the car despite his fingerprints being on the steering wheel.

He was also found to have no licence or insurance and was not authorised to drive the vehicle.

Williamson pleaded guilty yesterday to causing the trio’s deaths by dangerous driving at the High Court in Glasgow.

Williamson, of Larkhall, faces an “inevitable” jail term when he returns to the dock in February.

The court heard the Astra was owned by an unrelated person who asked one of Williamson’s passengers Peter Ferguson to park it at his home in Bothwell.

Two days later Williamson drove from the Bothwell property with Mr Ferguson in the passenger seat around 4.35am.

The three others and Mr Ferguson’s dog occupied the back seats with Williamson intending to drive home to Larkhall.

Prosecutor Chris MacIntosh said: “A collision occurred whereby the vehicle failed to negotiate the left- hand bend of the road and it crossed the northbound lane. It entered the pavement and struck a stone wall surrounding a memorial there.”

Mercy crews arrived to find Williamson trapped in the driver’s seat still breathing but unresponsive as was Mr Ferguson.

James Williamson was discovered 20 yards from the car in cardiac arrest with a “traumatic head injury”.

He had suffered severe chest and abdominal injuries. Mr Beveridge meantime sustained severe injuries to the head, chest, abdomen and pelvis. Miss McCallum suffered chest, abdomen and pelvis injuries.

All three were pronounced dead later that morning.

Mr Ferguson escaped with an arm injury however his dog was also put down due to the nature of its wounds.

A blood test was carried out at hospital which uncovered that Williamson was more than three times over the limit.

Six types of drugs including cocaine, morphine and etizolam were also found in his system.

Williamson was quizzed by police in January 2021 and stated he could “not remember” who was driving.

Williamson had also sustained numerous fractures as well as a bleed to the brain and a punctured lung as a result of the crash.

It was estimated that the car was travelling up to 60mph in a 30 zone at the time.

Mr MacIntosh said: “It is the collision investigator’s conclusion that the crash was entirely due to the fault of Williamson as the driver.”

Mr Beveridge, formerly of East Kilbride - who was a widower - is survived by his two children. James Williamson, formerly of Larkhall, is survived by his six- year- old son. Miss McCallum is survived by her

13- year- old son.

It was revealed that unemployed Williamson had 16 previous convictions at the time of the collision.

Judge Graham Buchanan remanded Williamson in custody pending background reports.