A man who killed a motorist after the trailer he was towing detached from his Land Rover and collided with her car has been told he will be jailed.
Mark McVay failed to properly secure the trailer to his Land Rover before it uncoupled and crashed into Michelle Russell’s vehicle.
McVay, 56, had denied causing the death of Ms Russell, 38, from Alva in Clackmannanshire, by dangerously driving the Land Rover towing the trailer.
However, he was convicted of the offence following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.
He was found to have driven them while in a dangerous condition as the braking system to the trailer was inadequately maintained.
The trailer was heavily modified as a crane and power pack were fixed to it, among other alterations he carried out before the fatal crash occurred on August 30 2018 at West Road, near Saline, in Fife.
McVay, of Backmuir of Pitfirrane, Dunfermline, was also found guilty of using the vehicle and trailer when they had faults, including a fractured chassis on the Land Rover and defective emergency braking mechanism on the trailer.
Following the verdicts trial judge Lord Mulholland told McVay: “You have been convicted of a very serious crime, involving the death of a woman loved by her family.
“This will inevitably result in a sentence of imprisonment.”
First offender McVay, who had been on bail throughout his trial, was remanded in custody for the preparation of a background report and will be sentenced next month.
Family tribute to victim
The court heard Miss Russell had set off on the morning of the crash planning to visit her grandmother but after her car crashed with the decoupled trailer she suffered catastrophic injuries.
Advocate depute Shanti Maguire told the court: “In this case a young woman has tragically lost her life.
“Her family have lost a daughter and sister.”
In a statement released through Police Scotland at the time, Michelle’s family said: ” Michelle was a loved daughter, sister and auntie.
“We will miss her so much and would appreciate complete privacy for the family.”
Denied responsibility
The prosecutor told jurors the modifications were made to the trailer for McVay’s commercial purposes.
She said expert evidence indicated if the coupling was properly attached and checked it could not come off.
“The Crown case is that he did not attach the trailer correctly, as was his responsibility to do so and as a result he towed the trailer in an obviously dangerous condition which ultimately caused the death of Michelle Russell when it uncoupled and collided with her car,” she said.
McVay, a second hand dealer and groundworker, said: “It was locked when I left the house.
“I don’t accept that I didn’t lock it properly.”
