Fireman played 'Russian roulette'

The appliance was responding to a 999 call when the collision occurred

A police officer has likened the actions of a firefighter who ran a red light before crashing into a deaf motorist to playing Russian roulette.

PC Craig Stewart was giving evidence at Falkirk Sheriff Court in the trial against fireman Garry Trotter.

Mr Trotter, 41, is accused of careless driving after John McIntosh was killed when his car was hit by a fire engine responding to a 999 call in May 2007.

The firefighter, who denies the charge, was driving the appliance at the time.

The vehicle, which was carrying four other firefighters en route to a fire outside a house, hit Mr McIntosh's car at a traffic light-controlled junction at Linlithgow Road and Dean Road in Bo'ness.

The speed limit on the road is 30mph.

PC Stewart, of Central Scotland Police road policing unit, told the court tests indicated the fire engine was travelling at 37mph when it braked before slamming into the silver Ford Escort driven by Mr McIntosh.

In the circumstances, the driver of the fire vehicle was fully entitled to exceed the speed limit Frances McMenamin QC

He said there was a "zone of invisibility" at the junction caused by trees and bushes which blocked drivers' vision.

The traffic officer stressed that, under the law, drivers of emergency vehicles could run a red light.

But he stressed: "The exemption does not allow you to go through at any speed. You must treat it as a give way."

Fiscal Depute Linda Cockburn asked: "Did you find anything that indicated that Mr Trotter gave way at that junction?"

PC Stewart replied: "Not at all. He would have had to slow down drastically."

'Not excessive'

He said his investigations of the accident made him conclude: "It would be playing Russian Roulette going through that area at 37mph with that zone of invisibility."

Mr McIntosh, who had held a driving licence since 1995, was born deaf and would have been unlikely to have heard the fire engine's sirens.

Following the collision, he was rushed by ambulance to Stirling Royal Infirmary but pronounced dead on arrival.

In asking Sheriff David Hall to clear the firefighter of any wrong doing, defence counsel Frances McMenamin QC said: "This is a tragic case.

"Everyone involved in the case must extend their condolences to Mr McIntosh's family

She said the law "excluded" emergency vehicles from the speed limit "if it hindered the use of that vehicle for the purpose for which it was intended."

Hazardous junction

She added: "In the circumstances, the driver of the fire vehicle was fully entitled to exceed the speed limit.

"And that speed - before the point of impact - was not excessive."

Fiscal depute Linda Cockburn, seeking a conviction, described the scene of the collision as a hazardous junction due to bushes and hedges.

She said: "It must be remembered that Mr McIntosh did nothing wrong.

"He had been licensed to drive for 12 years. His traffic lights were at green.

"Much has been made of Mr McIntosh's deafness. But he was a road user."

The prosecutor acknowledged that the firefighter had been on his way to what he thought was an emergency.

She added: "Mr McIntosh, because of his deafness, was not alerted by the sirens.

"There are no winners here. It has affected many people - not least the family of Mr McIntosh."