Driver jailed over girl's death

A man who caused the death of a teenage girl in a car crash has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in detention.

Abigail Simpson, 15, was killed when Scott Manson, 20, lost control of his car and hit a concrete pillar in Castletown, Caithness, in October 2007.

Manson was convicted of causing his passenger's death by dangerous driving.

At the High Court in Edinburgh, Lord Pentland told him: "Only a prison sentence will mark the dangerous nature of your driving."

He said his actions had "tragic consequences".

Manson, who was 18 at the time of the crash and had only just passed his driving test, was also banned from driving for seven years.

"It is difficult to avoid concluding that you gave in to a temptation to show off in front of your passengers"

His trial heard that Manson had five passengers in his car, including one hidden in the boot, and was driving at about 70mph on the Thurso to Castletown road just seconds before the crash.

The apprentice mechanical engineer overtook a friend's car on two occasions on the five-mile stretch and was estimated to be travelling at 50mph as he entered Castletown.

He had told the trial: "I felt my car jolt across the road. It bounced like I had hit a kerb.

"I tried to correct myself and keep the car straight but the back end of the car swung around and hit the lamppost and pillar."

Ms Simpson was in the back seat behind the front passenger and took the full impact of the collision.

SENTENCING STATEMENT

Lord Pentland's sentencing statement [28KB]
Most computers will open this document automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader

Lord Pentland told Manson: "You took a deliberate decision to drive while the car was dangerously overloaded and you took a conscious decision to overtake when it was unsafe to do so, as you should have appreciated.

"From the evidence about the overtaking of the other car and the speed of your own vehicle, it is difficult to avoid concluding that you gave in to a temptation to show off in front of your passengers.

"Regrettably, you chose to disregard much of what you must have been taught while learning to drive so shortly before the accident."

He said it was the court's duty to discourage such "irresponsible conduct".

After the guilty verdict, Ms Simpson's mother Nicola had said: "Abigail will never fulfil her dreams and ambitions - she had so many.

"We knew from the beginning of these court proceedings, no matter the result, our daughter Abigail will not be coming home."