Lorry driver who admitted causing death of north-east pensioner handed unpaid work

A long-haul lorry driver who caused the death of a retired oil and gas worker when his car collided with the back of his HGV has been banned from driving for one year. Stephen Brennand, 60, appeared in the dock last month where he admitted acting without due care and attention when he pulled his lorry into the central reservation of the A90 near Tipperty. Brennand, who had been driving for 10 hours, was attempting to turn his vehicle around and pull over, but left the back end of his trailer protruding into the fast lane.

Alistair Arthur's Volkswagen Scirocco - which was travelling in the opposite direction - struck the lorry, killing the 74-year-old. Two female passengers who were in the car were also injured. At a previous hearing[1], Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told the roof of Mr Arthur's car became detached from the rest of the vehicle during the collision.

As dashcam footage of the fatal crash was shown to the court, Brennand sat in the dock with his head in his hands.

Accused had been driving for 10 hours

The court heard that Brennand had completed a delivery in Fraserburgh on the afternoon of January 25 2022 when he headed back in the direction of Aberdeen. At around 5.10pm Brennand became aware that he had been driving for nearly 10 hours and would be required to stop to rest. Dashcam footage shows Brennand drive 600 metres southward before turning into Logie Road, at Tipperty, and crossing the southbound dual carriageway to the central reservation.

Fiscal depute Niall MacDonald told the court: "At this time, the accused had only one minute left before he would exceed the permitted maximum 10 hours of driving time. "His HGV was 11 metres in length and the central reservation was 9.8 metres wide when measured at a vertical right angle, and, accordingly, unless the accused had positioned his HGV at a requisite angle, it would have protruded to some extent at least into lane two, the overtaking lane for vehicles travelling southbound." Due to the failure of Brennand to pull his lorry into the central reservation, it was concluded that his vehicle was "entirely blocking all of lane two and a significant part of lane one".

Victim's injuries were 'not survivable'

Mr Arthur's car collided with the rear offside of Brennand's lorry and proceeded to strike the nearside kerb before hitting an offside road barrier and coming to rest.

The crash caused significant damage to the car and resulted in the roof of the Volkswagen becoming detached. Mr Arthur sustained injuries during the collision that were "not survivable". His two female passengers, aged 87 and 81, were trapped within the car before being removed and taken to hospital. [2]

At the crash site, Brennand was seen parking his lorry and attended at the crash site. When asked by a member of the public if he was okay he stated that he wasn't worried about himself he was just worried about the people in the car, He was heard to remark to another member of the public: "I wish I'd stayed in the layby."

When spoken to by police, Brennand later stated that he had been "a bit panicky" about the number of hours he had been driving and the fact that he was only a minute away from the 10-hour cut-off point.

Driver handed road ban

A report by a police expert identified driver error as the main factor for the fatal collision, combined with Brennand's decision-making potentially being affected due to him being one minute away from his legal driving time limit. It was also stated that the dark colour of the lorry may have also been a factor and would have affected Mr Arthur's ability to see the vehicle at night. In the dock, Brennand pleaded guilty to one charge of causing the death of Alistair Arthur by driving his vehicle without due care and attention and reasonable consideration for other motorists using the road.

Sentencing Brennand, Sheriff Craig Findlater made him subject to a community payback order and ordered him to carry out 130 hours of unpaid work.

He also banned Brennand, of High Peak, Whaley Bridge, Derbyshire, from driving for 12 months.

For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen as well as crime and breaking incidents, join our Facebook group. [3]

References

1. ^ At a previous hearing (www.pressandjournal.co.uk)
2. ^ were trapped within the car before being removed and taken to hospital. (www.pressandjournal.co.uk)
3. ^ join our Facebook group. (www.facebook.com)