Crash driver admits killing five

Ewan Macpherson will be sentenced next month

A driver who killed five people after overtaking on a blind summit has admitted responsibility for the crash.

William Melville, his wife Allison and their son, also William, died after their car was hit head-on by a Vauxhall Corsa driven by Ewan Macpherson, 21.

Macpherson's passengers Donna Miller and Tanya Webster, both 19, died in his car after it caught fire.

At the High Court in Edinburgh, he pled guilty to causing death by dangerous driving. Sentence was deferred.

Mrs Melville, 60, a lollipop lady at the primary school in her home town of Methven in Perthshire, was made an MBE in 2002 and was said to have been dedicated to road safety.

The court was told that the Melville family had been travelling in their Honda Civic on the A85 Perth to Crieff road shortly after 2300 GMT on 27 January last year when Macpherson, from Auchterarder, pulled out to overtake.

Mr and Mrs Melville and their son William died in the head-on smash

He crossed a solid white line into the eastbound lane and continued to drive on the wrong side of the road to the crest of a blind summit in the road.

Witnesses estimated Macpherson's car was travelling at about 65mph on the road, which has a 60mph speed limit.

Advocate depute Alan Mackay, prosecuting, said the Corsa left the road and rolled onto its roof after the crash.

"The engine ignited enveloping the front of the vehicle in flames. The three occupants were trapped within," he said.

"The Honda slewed round and came to rest on the carriageway facing the south verge of the road. Again, the occupants were trapped within the vehicle."

A nurse who stopped to help saw that Mrs Melville and her 33-year-old son were dead. Mr Melville Sr, 67, was unconscious and died later in Perth Royal Infirmary.

Donna Miller and Tanya Webster were passengers in the Corsa

When police arrived on the scene they pulled Macpherson, whose legs were on fire, out of the burning Corsa but were unable to save his female passengers, who were both from Crieff.

Mr Mackay continued: "The bodies of Tanya Webster and Donna Miller were on the back seat of the car. Because of the intensity of the fire and the heat it was impossible, at that stage, to retrieve the bodies."

Photographs of the aftermath of the crash were shown to judge Lord Brailsford.

Macpherson suffered a broken arm and severe burns to his legs. He was in hospital for several months and police were only able to question him about the accident in May last year.

Calling for background reports, Lord Brailsford said Macpherson now faced an "almost inevitable" jail sentence. He said it was "difficult to imagine a more tragic case".

The judge allowed first offender Macpherson to remain on bail, but took away his driver's licence.

Defence QC Peter Gray said he would give Macpherson's side of the story when he returns to court for sentence in May.