Killer driver is jailed for five years
A dangerous driver who was deliberately “showing off” moments before he killed his cousin’s daughter has been jailed for five years.
Hamilton man Martin Mcguire, 39, was driving at 51 miles per hour in a 30 mph zone when he hit 12-year-old Abbie Mclaren as she crossed the road after getting off a bus in Motherwell on February 12.
She was thrown onto a parked car, suffered multiple injuries and later died in hospital.
Mcguire admitted causing Abbie’s death by dangerous driving and also driving without a licence or insurance when he appeared at the High Court in Glasgow last month.
Sentence had been deferred to the High Court in Edinburgh in order for judge Lady Scott to obtain reports on his character.
On Friday, she heard defence QC Jim Keegan tell the court that his client caused Abbie’s death because he was busy “showing off ” the capabilities of the car he was driving.
Mr Keegan said his client, who has six previous convictions for motoring offences – including two for drink driving – has vowed to never drive again.
Judge Lady Scott told Mcguire the most suitable sentence at her disposal was custody. She also banned him from driving for eightand-a-half years.
The ban will not apply for twoand-a-half years – the time when he is expected to be released on parole – and he will have to sit a driving test when the disqualification period expires.
Passing sentence, Lady Scott said: “You drove at excessive speeds. Abbie was a 12-year-old girl with her whole life in front of her.
“Abbie was well loved by her close family – especially by mum, brothers, sisters and grandparents.
“All of them have been left devastated and will be bereft forever by their loss.”
However, Lady Scott’s decision was not met with approval by relatives of Abbie’s who were present in court.
One man was led from court by police officers after he shouted: “Five years...no chance!”
He then looked at Mcguire who sat in the dock beside security guards and said: “F ***** g scumbag b ***** d.”
At proceedings last month, prosecutor Alex Prentice QC told the court that the father of seven was driving his daughter’s car and picked up Abbie’s father Adam Mclaren at around 4pm.
At 4.08pm, Abbie got off a bus on the Loaning in Motherwell with a her her friend, having arranged to meet her and go to a shop.
Mr Prentice said Mcguire and Mr Mclaren were not aware of the arrangement and it was “purely coincidental that all parties were passing through” the same area at the same time.
After getting off the bus, Abbie and her friend waited for traffic to clear at the rear of the vehicle and began to cross.
Mr Prentice said: “Her friend stopped halfway across, however Abbie Mclaren continued to run across and was struck by the accused’s vehicle travelling southbound.
“The speed at which the car was travelling caused Abbie Mclaren to be projected forward onto a nearby parked car, which caused extensive damage to the car and fatal injuries to Abbie Mclaren.”
The court heard how Mr Mclaren was the front seat passenger in the car.
Following the crash, Mcguire stopped the vehicle and remained at the scene.
The court heard that Abbie suffered multiple skull fractures with bleeding into and around her brain as well as fractures to other bones including her lower cervical spine.
Mr Prentice said Mcguire was travelling “well in excess of the speed limit” and there was nothing obscuring his view in the car and no reason for him not to see Abbie just before the collision.
He said: “The dangerousness of the driving stems from the vehicle travelling at an excessive speed for the prevailing circumstances which included people alighting from a bus.
“The speed travelled did not allow sufficient reaction time to an obvious hazard such as a person crossing the road.”
Abbie was a pupil at Dalziel High School in Motherwell.
On Friday, members of Abbie’s family were present in court to hear Mr Keegan’s mitigation.
The solicitor advocate told the court that his client could drive and had competed in several “off road” competitions at venues including the Knockhill motor sports circuit in Fife.
Mr Keegan added: “But he has never taken a driving test.”
Mr Keegan said that on the day of the offence, Mcguire decided to show off his daughter’s car to Abbie’s father.
He said: “He was showing off. He was busy showing off the capabilities of the car to his cousin. He was showing off how it was able to handle on the road and its power.
“His position is that he thought he was travelling at 41 miles per hour. But he wasn’t paying attention to the speedometer.
“He fully accepts that he shouldn’t have been doing this at all. He now knows fully that his actions amounted to sheer stupidity.
“He has vowed to never drive again.”
Mr Keegan said that threats had been made against Mcguire, who had been told about them by police.
He also asked Lady Scott to be as lenient as she could be because Mcguire provided substantial financial support to his family.
He added: “He has a good work record and has always been in work. His family will suffer in the shortterm as a consequence of a loss of income.”
However, Lady Scott ordered Mcguire to be jailed. He was admonished on the charges of driving without insurance and driving without a licence.