Pensioner who killed a Kirk minister in horror car accident spared jail
A PENSIONER was yesterday banned from driving for four years for causing the death of a Church of Scotland minister by driving over him twice.
Kelman Edwards mixed up the brake and accelerator of his car in a tragic mistake that led to the death of the Rev Thomas Sinclair, 76.
The accident happened in Edinburgh city centre, where the Kirk minister was attending the General Assembly.
Only two days before his 79th birthday, Edwards, of Edinburgh, was handed the ban and tagged, having previously admitted causing death by careless driving.
Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard that Edwards dropped off his daughter at Waverley railway station on May 19 last year, but found the down ramp blocked by a newly installed security barrier.
He then reversed up to Waverley Bridge, which was busy with pedestrians, but pressed the accelerator instead of the brake.
His automatic Vauxhall Astra sped across the road, driving over Mr Sinclair, of East Tarbet, Lewis.
The car then hit a stationary bus on the opposite side of the road and the OAP again struck the minister when he drove forward.
The emergency services quickly arrived at the scene but were unable to save Mr Sinclair, who suffered major internal injuries. The minister had been on his way from the Assembly Hall to meet his wife, Pam, at the St James Centre.
When questioned by police, Edwards said: ‘I don’t believe I was driving without due care and attention.’ However, he has voluntarily given up his licence and vowed that he will never drive again.
As Edwards, using a walking stick, entered the court to await sentence yesterday, he tripped on a step and landed heavily on his back. He was helped onto a seat and Sheriff Frank Crowe allowed him to remain there instead of entering the dock.
Defence solicitor Jim Stephenson told the court: ‘No adequate words can express his regret and remorse about his actions. It will stay with him for the rest of his life.’
Mr Stephenson said his client had lost three stone in weight, adding: ‘He is struggling to come to terms with what happened that day. He is on medication as a result of the accident. He is unable to sleep at night, waking up, thinking of what happened that day.’
Sheriff Crowe told Edwards: ‘This was obviously a tragic incident. When I saw you on April 2 [when the pensioner pleaded guilty] I didn’t think you were fit to drive a car and you obviously have recognised that yourself. The real question is your fitness to drive that day.’
The sheriff said he appreciated that the accident had occurred at a ‘very tricky locus’.
He added: ‘I appreciate it was an automatic vehicle and at some time you stopped to let pedestrians past. You took it out of neutral but instead of putting your foot on the brake, you put it on the accelerator, struck the gentleman and fatally injured him.’
Taking account of Edwards’s lack of previous convictions, his good character, and that he had declared his intention never to drive again, Sheriff Crowe imposed a restriction of liberty order, confining him to his residence between 9pm and 6am for six months and banned him from driving for four years.
John Cunningham, Presbytery clerk of Lewis, said: ‘Our prayers are with Mrs Pam Sinclair and her family who are now reliving the horror of 2014. But our prayers are also with Mr Edwards and his family as he tries to come to terms with the life-changing consequences of this dreadful accident.’