Bus driver kills man in Loch Lomond crash horror after taking call …

A bus driver killed a young man after being distracted by a phone call from his wife.

Gavin Aitken, 49, was behind the wheel of a company car when he ploughed into a motorbike on which Liam Scott was riding pillion. The 21 year-old – who had been set to join the army – never survived having suffered a fatal head injury.

Aitken today admitted to a charge of causing death by dangerous driving as he appeared in the dock at the High Court in Glasgow. The first offender was remanded in custody pending sentencing next month.

The crash happened on the A82 near Auchenheglish Lodges in Balloch, on August 31, 2020. Aitken was a driver for Garelochhead Coaches at the time. He finished his shift that afternoon and took a company Volkswagen Golf to get back to the firm’s depot.

Aitken stopped en-route to meet his wife and she then followed in her Vauxhall Corsa. Liam, of Irvine, was meantime a passenger on a Suzuki bike driven by his 23 year-old friend Stewart McKenzie. The pair had been travelling to Loch Lomond at the time.

Aitken, of Alexandria, ended up directly behind the bike on the A82.

Prosecutor Louise Beattie then told the court: “At 5.11pm, Aitken received an incoming phone call from his wife. It forwarded to voicemail. Aitken accepts that he was distracted by the phone call.

“This was an avoidable distraction which caused him to take his eyes off the road. He became involved with the phone in the crucial seconds leading up to the approach to the junction.”

It resulted in Aitken’s car hitting the rear wheel of the Suzuki as the bike had slowed to turn right. Liam was hurtled backwards and then smacked into the windscreen of the Volkswagen.

Stewart was also thrown from the motorcycle. Aitken, his wife and others – including a nurse and two off duty doctors – raced out to help.

Liam was rushed to hospital in Glasgow and was found to have a significant brain injury. Part of the bike had also embedded into his leg.

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He tragically never recovered and passed away on September 2 2020. His friend Stewart received treatment for a fractured and dislocated thumb.

Aitken was later charged with causing the collision. Miss Beattie said crash investigators concluded Aitken had “failed to react appropriately” to the bike in front of him.

She stated: “As such, it is fair to say that he was not presented with some unexpected event.”

Tony Lenehan KC, defending, said Aitken offered “profound apologies” for what happened.

Lord Young deferred sentencing for reports until July 6 in Livingston. The judge told Aitken: “This led to the death of Liam Scott and the injury of Stewart McKenzie.

“You have pled guilty to a charge that will almost inevitably result in a custodial sentence. In the circumstances, I am going to remand you in custody meantime.”

It emerged after the crash, Liam was the second child his parents had lost after the death of a daughter six years earlier. His mum Kelly Scott said at the time: “He was a much loved person, who was game for a laugh and just wanted to live his life to the full.

“Instead, it was ripped from under him in the blink of an eye.”

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