Driver blamed for A9 death crash

The court heard McLean had twice tried to overtake traffic

A motorist blamed by a sheriff for a crash which left two dead and a girl in a coma has been fined £600 and banned from driving for two years.

Ronald McLean's attempts to overtake traffic on the A9 caused the driver of a camper van to veer into an oncoming car, Inverness Sheriff Court heard.

McLean, 59, from Alness, Ross-shire, admitted careless driving.

Sheriff Derek Pyle said he would have jailed McLean had he been convicted of causing death by dangerous driving.

Someone was to blame. That is you McLean Sheriff Derek Pyle

Driver James McKinley, 50, of Edinburgh, and his back seat passenger Elizabeth Hall, 44, of Falkirk, died in the crash near Dalwhinnie in February 2007.

Thirteen-year-old Kaya MacInnes, a niece of Ms Hall, was left in a coma for three weeks and is still recovering from serious head injuries.

Sheriff Pyle told McLean: "This is a tragic accident.

"But that would suggest that no-one was to blame. Someone was to blame. That is you McLean."

He added: "I drive up and down the A9 every week. There is nothing wrong with the road, it is people like you that is the problem on that road.

"As the law stands, you will understand why this had to be careless driving rather than dangerous, or even death by dangerous driving.

"That is your good fortune."

The court heard McLean had twice made overtaking manoeuvres to pass a long line of traffic on the northbound carriageway of the A9.

On the second occasion a number vehicles were forced to brake to allow him to pull back onto the correct side of the carriageway in order to avoid a collision with oncoming traffic.

Three grandchildren

Richard McNicoll, 68, of Linlithgow, West Lothian, who was driving the camper van at the end of the convoy, also braked to avoid colliding with the car in front of him.

The camper van, in which his wife and three grandchildren were also travelling, skidded and veered across the road, crashing head on with Mr McKinley's Peugeot.

Sheriff Pyle admonished McNicoll on a charge of careless driving and ordered three penalty points to be imposed on his licence.