Driver convicted of killing woman

Duncan claimed he had been having difficulty sleeping at the time

A driver who fell asleep at the wheel before hitting and killing a woman has been convicted of causing her death.

Doreen McGregor was run over by William Duncan's car while tending to her ill son on the hard shoulder of the M80 motorway near Stirling in July 2007.

The 31-year-old, of Dalgety Bay, Fife, was taking her family on a camping holiday when the accident happened.

Duncan, 57, from Mastrick in Aberdeen, was found guilty at the High Court in Glasgow of death by dangerous driving.

He will be sentenced next month.

Mounted kerb

A trial heard how Duncan - who had been suffering from sleeping problems - nodded off and drifted across the motorway before colliding into Doreen and her husband Mark.

The couple had been on their way to a camping holiday near Dumfries on 15 July, 2007, with their three children, 10-year-old Sean, Connor, seven, and five-year-old Caitlin.

They had pulled onto the hard shoulder of the M80 at about 1100 BST when Connor began to feel sick.

At the same time, Duncan was travelling from his home in Aberdeen on the way to a summer break in Glasgow.

Justice has been served Doreen Vaughan Victim's mother

The court heard how he fell asleep and that his Vauxhall Astra careered onto the hard shoulder, where Doreen, Mark and Connor had climbed out of their Ford Focus.

He mounted the kerb and hit all three.

Mrs McGregor - a supermarket team leader - never recovered from her injuries.

Mr McGregor, 31, suffered broken arms, fractured shoulders and knees, a broken ankle and ligament damage to his legs.

All three children required hospital treatment for minor injuries.

Duncan, of Corndavon Terrace, Aberdeen, denied causing the death of Mrs McGregor and injuring her husband and three children by dangerous driving.

He told the court he could remember nothing about the crash, but that it had left him "very devastated".

Mrs McGregor's mother, Doreen Vaughan, said: "Justice has been served.

"Mark now has to look after three kids on his own. It is just so sad."