Witnesses recall events leading up to fatal Highland crash that killed Inverness man
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DRIVERS on a remote Highland road have described events leading up to a fatal crash which claimed the life of a 20 year-old Inverness man.
In March, Mikey Durdle from Beauly was jailed for three years at the High Court in Edinburgh for causing the death of Kyle Robertson by dangerous driving near Garve on February 25, 2018.
Inverness Sheriff Court heard the two pals were among a group of up to eight young drivers who organised to meet up in Dingwall to drive west.
But the outing ended in tragedy when 23-year-old Durdle's Audi S3 struck Mr Robertson's Seat Leon as he overtook it on the A835 causing the Seat to leave the road, cross the verge and railway line and strike a tree.
Yesterday, at Inverness two drivers who were part of the convoy, Callum Fraser (21) of Miers Avenue, Inverness and Colin Maclennan (24), of Park Terrace, Strathpeffer went on trial charged with dangerous driving.
They deny driving at excessive speed, racing, and jockeying for position and overtaking when it was unsafe to do so before the fatal collision.
Witnesses told Sheriff Sara Matheson several cars were overtaking each other approaching blind bends and summits.
At the High Court in Edinburgh earlier this year advocate depute Alex Prentice QC said Durdle's vehicle was travelling at more than 84mph and decelerated to 76mph when his vehicle struck Mr Robertson's as he overtook it.
Giving evidence at Inverness, retired lorry driver George Sharp (77) said he was on a trip to Ullapool with his wife.
He said he was stuck at traffic lights in Strathpeffer and there was a white Audi behind with a "young guy" revving the engine. They moved off and as they passed Jamestown approaching a bend two cars passed him. He thought they were doing up to 80mph.
"I said to my wife I thought they (the cars) were being driven dangerously," he said.
Janette Dickenson, a 56-year-old property consultant, was travelling in the opposite direction from Forsinard to Aviemore.
She said her neighbour was in front of her and they came over a brow and saw five or six cars coming towards them.
"I thought 'Oh boy, you're going far too fast. You're too close together,'" she said.
"This is a dangerous road. I have two boys of my own and if I saw them driving like that I would have a fit."
Gritter driver Angus McLennan (57) was on his way to Ullapool where he was to start gritting the road back to Tore.
In a statement to police he said four cars overtook him at between 80-90mph.
But in evidence he acknowledged that in a gritter doing between 30-35mph overtaking vehicles could appear to be going much faster. He said up to eight cars overtook him over a five-mile stretch then he came across the accident scene which was "carnage".
Gamekeeper James Milne (60), who was at Tarvie Services with his family, said he heard the exhausts of approaching cars and they passed a vehicle exiting the car park at between 70-80mph.
"I said to my son they're not going to get very far before they have an accident."
The trial was continued until November 13.
