I never knew Steven Donaldson.
But I vividly recall my first fleeting glance of the successful young oil worker on the road between Arbroath and Friockheim.
It wasn’t his bright smile that caught my attention, rather the pristine, fast, and rare BMW 1M which flashed by on the straight near Colliston.
The gleaming white machine bore the personalised registration S73 VED. As a car fan it instantly caught my attention.
And on June 8 2018, fate would confirm its owner.
That afternoon, at a press conference in Dundee Police HQ, Detective Superintendent Jim Smith revealed a body found beside the burned out BMW bearing the plate was that of Steven Donaldson.
Almost a year later, having sat through the entire, harrowing proceedings in Edinburgh High Court, I watched the Kinnordy three convicted of Steven’s callous killing.
Across weeks of evidence we learned much more about Steven and the senseless loss of a life which promised so much.
And witnessed the dignity of the Donaldson family in the face of their heart-breaking loss to such grotesque evil.
Then, as now, Steven’s parents and sisters demonstrate courage beyond comprehension.
Biking family rally to honour Steven Donaldson
So it was an honour to join hundreds of bikers for the third Steven Donaldson memorial run from Steven’s home town of Arbroath to Kinnordy Loch on Saturday.
And a privilege to witness it from the back of Dundee biker Tam D’Cruz’s Harley-Davidson thanks to his kind offer to carry me as pillion on Saturday afternoon.
That’s the hallmark of the biking family, who rally to honour their own.
They have already done it twice since stranger Billy Connell organised the first ride-out in 2019.
It gave a vantage point to witness the hundreds of people who lined the streets of Arbroath, Forfar and Kirriemuir as we passed through.
In a massive show of love and support for the Donaldson family, they waved and applauded the revving convoy – not just in the towns but from roadside vantage points along the entire route.
And as we headed along the A933, my thoughts inside the crash helmet turned back to that first passing encounter with Steve D’s BMW at the exact same spot.
But the most poignant moment came as the two-wheeled tribute turned out of Kirrie on the road to Kinnordy Loch, where a memorial oak stands in Steven’s memory.
In June 2018, a police checkpoint at the Slade Road junction gave Kirriemuir its first indicator of the horrific chapter about to unfold.
On Saturday, in the Angus sunshine beside the loch road, children held a hand-painted banner for the passing bikers.
Its simple, powerful message captured the sentiment of Kirrie, Angus and the hundreds of bikers who also never knew Steven but wanted to honour him and the courageous Donaldson family.
Never Forgotten.
A Voice for Victims was launched by The Courier to campaign for changes in Scotland’s parole system.
Many victims feel cast aside by the current set-up.
There is the overwhelming sense that those traumatised by crime come secondary to those who have committed them.
We want to reform parole hearings so that victims and their families are put first.
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