OAP accused of killing teenager ‘heard a bang’ as his car reversed
A PENSIONER accused of reversing over and killing a teenager who was filling her car with petrol told police he heard a ‘bang’ as his car shot backwards, a court heard yesterday.
Alexander Wotherspoon also claimed he only found out that there had been a fatality when he was informed by a doctor at the scene.
The 83-year-old is alleged to have reversed over 17-year-old Eilish Herron at the Asda filling station in Linwood, Renfrewshire, on September 10, 2014.
Wotherspoon, of Houston, Renfrewshire, is on trial at Paisley Sheriff Court where he denies causing the teenager’s death by driving without due care and attention.
A video recording of his police interview was played to the court yesterday.
In it, he said: ‘I had no intention of going out driving that day but the wife wanted to go shopping.
‘I needed petrol and as we were driving into the Phoenix Retail Park my wife said, “You’re as well getting it just now”.
‘I overshot the pump. I got out and saw I needed to go back. There was nothing behind me. I started the engine, the car shot back, I heard a bang.
‘It was only when an ambulance arrived I was told by a doctor, “I’m sorry to tell you, there’s been a fatality”.’
Wotherspoon went on: ‘My son said that when he drove it, it had happened to him. He said it went backwards when he started it.
‘I was in the car at the time but I never connected the two.’
The pensioner added: ‘What happens now? I’ve been worried sick since this happened.’
The court also heard that Wotherspoon – who has had two hip operations, a knee replacement, uses two sticks to help him walk and has been left with a shorter right leg because of the procedures – gave up driving on the day Eilish died.
His wife of 55 years, Donaldina, gave evidence at his trial.
The 85-year-old, who worked as a nurse at Paisley’s Royal Alexandra Hospital for nearly 30 years, said she comforted their daughter Catriona, who was in the car at the time.
Mrs Wotherspoon claimed she told the 49-year-old, who has dementia and Down’s syndrome, that they had just hit the kerb.
She explained: ‘It was very quick. He (Wotherspoon) realised he went too far forward for the pump.
‘I know I remember a bump, my daughter said “Bump Bump”. She is disabled, I was trying to comfort her.
‘I said, “Daddy has hit the kerb”. I remember the car reversing, I was still comforting my daughter.’
When asked by defence solici- tor Laura Irvine if Wotherspoon had driven since the incident, his wife replied: ‘No, he has never drove a car since. He gave up his licence on the very day this happened.’
Earlier in the trial, a joint minute of agreement was read to the five male and ten female jurors, stating that Wotherspoon was driving a silver Ford Focus car which hit Eilish.
It said the cause of death was a head injury.
Wotherspoon denies starting the engine of his car and reversing while the driver’s door was still open, failing to keep control of the car and, while it was reversing, causing it to hit the Renault Clio that Eilish was filling with petrol at the time.
The charge against Wotherspoon states that his actions knocked the teenager to the ground, moved her car out of the way and caused his vehicle to reverse over her, dragging Eilish underneath the car and ‘causing her to be so severely injured that she died’. Wotherspoon maintains his innocence and the trial, before Sheriff Seith Ireland, continues.
‘I have been worried sick’