The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Driver jailed for A9 crash
An HGV driver who killed a lorry driver in a crash on the A9 after falling asleep at the wheel was jailed for threeand-a-half years yesterday.
David MacDonald (25) was driving north in a tanker when it began to drift across to the opposite side of the road before smashing into a vehicle being driven by Montrose man Gordon Cooper.
AN HGV driver who killed a Montrose lorry driver in a crash after falling asleep at the wheel was jailed for three and a half years yesterday.
David MacDonald failed to take sufficient rest before the collision on the A9 with a lorry being driven by Gordon Cooper (57), who died.
MacDonald (25) was driving north in a tanker when it began to drift across to the opposite side of the road before smashing into the other vehicle.
A judge told MacDonald at the High Court in Edinburgh the victim was a family man who left a widow and two sons.
Lord Bracadale said he was conscious that no sentence he imposed could bring back Mr Cooper or begin to compensate for his loss.
“The sentence cannot and is not intended to measure the value of the life of Mr Cooper.”
He told MacDonald that he had embarked on a long return journey between Elgin, in Moray, and Girvan, in Ayrshire, through the day and night without taking adequate rest periods.
“The predictable result was you fell asleep at the wheel, with devastating consequences,” Lord Bracadale said.
“All drivers must take care not to drive when too tired and, for commercial drivers like you, the regulations over rest periods are laid down with the specific purpose of preventing such catastrophic occurrences.”
The judge said he accepted that MacDonald had shown remorse and had suffered serious injuries, adding that he would have faced a sentence of four years and nine months, but for his guilty plea.
He also banned MacDonald from driving for seven years and ordered that he resit the extended test.
MacDonald admitted causing the death of Mr Cooper by driving dangerously on the A9 between Dunkeld and Ballinluig on December 23 2010.
The collision brought Mr Cooper’s lorry to a halt on the verge with the cab of the vehicle significantly damaged.
MacDonald’s vehicle jack-knifed and the cab hit a concrete block. The tanker trailer rolled on to its side.
Mr Cooper, of India Street, Montrose, was trapped in the cab pinned by the steering wheel. His breathing was shallow and he was unconscious but after firefighters removed the cab structure no trace of a heartbeat could be found.
MacDonald, of Strathspey Avenue, Aviemore, was thrown from the cab of his vehicle, resulting in the loss of his right leg below the knee and a fracture to the left leg.
Advocate depute Stephen O’Rourke said MacDonald appeared to have “limited experience” as an HGV driver, whereas Mr Cooper had extensive experience.
He said Mr Cooper left a widow, Rosemary Anne, and sons Daniel and Alexander, and added that the family were devastated by the death.
Defence counsel Barry Smith said: “Mr MacDonald wishes me to make plain to the court and to record his sincere remorse for the unnecessary loss of life caused by his actions.”