HIGH COURT IN INVERNESS: Jury considers verdict in case of lorry driver accused of causing death of Highland nursery teacher by dangerous driving
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Prosecution and defence teams have made their final arguments and now jurors are weighing up the evidence.
John O'Donnell of Crossover Road, Inverurie, has denied driving dangerously and failing to observe the stabilising outriggers of his low loader lorry were insecure; and causing the death of 26-year-old Inverness nursery teacher Chloe Morrison.
She had been walking along a pavement on the A82 at Kerrowdown, near Drumnadrochit, with her mother.
Advocate depute David Dickson asked the jury to convict the HGV driver saying that O'Donnell should have seen that the outrigger was unlocked and insecure on at least two occasions on his journey before the tragedy.
The prosecutor added that O'Donnell should also have seen it moving in his wing mirror.
Mr Dickson told the jury they had an option to convict on causing death by careless driving but he was seeking a conviction on the more serious charge.
Defence counsel Tony Graham QC argued that it was not obvious to his client that his lorry was in a dangerous state because he had not been trained to look for the yellow warning signs attached to the crane or what they meant.
He added: "Accidents do happen. How often do we have to check our mirrors?"
He also asked the jury to accept that the colour yellow was not associated with danger and urged the jury to put sympathy and emotion aside in a case that he said was "beyond tragic" to acquit his client.
The trial heard that O'Donnell had driven his lorry with a crane attached from Oldmeldrum to the north of Skye on October 24, 2019, stayed overnight and his load of fibre cable ducts was taken off by another grab crane.
The 52-year-old admitted he had dropped stabilizing legs the following day – although he was not trained to do so – before setting off on his return journey because of gales. But he insisted he did not extend the outrigger beams.
However CCTV showed the nearside outrigger's yellow warning sign that it was unlocked when he filled up with diesel at a Broadford filling station.
He said he visually checked the lorry on a rest break in a lay-by near Invermoriston and didn't see anything untoward.
The jury saw more CCTV which showed the outrigger moving as the lorry negotiated a tight bend coming out of Drumnadrochit.
Then a passenger in a car travelling in the opposite direction saw the outrigger swing in and out as it approached the collision scene, around a minute before Ms Morrison was killed.
