A van driver who blacked out before mowing down two schoolgirls on a rural Perthshire road has been found guilty of dangerous driving.
But the crucial legal question of why 73-year-old Ronald Craik became unconscious remains unsolved.
Jurors returned a not proven verdict to an allegation that he fell asleep behind the wheel.
Lawyers for Craik had argued that he fainted, meaning he wasn’t criminally responsible for the crash.
Following a three day trial at Perth Sheriff Court, the jury convicted the semi-retired marine engineer of dangerous driving for motoring away from the scene with a smashed windscreen.
He was further cleared of driving at excessive speed and into the path of an oncoming car.
Members of the public gallery – where friends and family of the two girls were sitting – broke down in tears when the not proven verdict was read out.
Ellie Sinclair, who was 15 at the time, spent 36 hours on a ventilator in intensive care, before being transferred to a paediatric high dependency unit for five days.
Her mother told The Courier how she had been left with devastating “life-changing” injuries which could affect her future employment.
She said “the roads are safer” now that Craik has lost his licence.
The real impact of the crash
Craik, of Mansfield Road, Scone, had been on his way home from work in Aberdeen on July 23, 2019, when he drove into youngsters Ellie Sinclair, 15, and Sarah Thomas, 14, on the Inchmichael to Balbeggie C-road.
The court heard it was one of the hottest days of the year and Craik had been yawning and feeling restless and uncomfortable in his Citreon Berlingo, which had no air conditioning.
He had tried to stop for a break at The Horn, but kept driving when he saw it was too busy.
Ms Thomas, now 18, told the trial she and her friend stepped onto the grass verge when they saw Craik’s van coming down the road.
She said the van continued towards them. The next thing she remembered was waking up on her front, with her friend lying face up in the bushes.
Ms Sinclair’s mother Joanne told us: “This case has taken four years to come to court and in that time Mr Craik has continued his life as normal and kept his licence, while Ellie has spent every day adjusting to her life-changing injuries.
“These injuries have resulted in multiple surgeries and will continue to impact her for the rest of her life.
“Her ability to work full time and obtain a driving licence is now unlikely.”
Mrs Sinclair said: “Ultimately, Mr Craik has now lost his licence and I believe the roads are safer for it.”
Experts
Craik’s lawyers argued a special defence of automatism, claiming he suffered an episode of the medical phenomenon vasovagal syncope, a condition that can cause sudden fainting.
This was backed by two expect witnesses for the defence: Sleep specialist Dr Robin Smith and consultant cardiologist Dr Stuart Hutcheon.
During closing speeches, fiscal depute Lora Apostolova told jurors they did not have to follow what the experts said.
She pointed to the fact Craik was yawning and experienced weariness and restlessness before the crash.
Ms Apostolova said the “crux of the matter” came when Craik told police he thought he fell asleep after being “overcome” by heat.
Defence counsel Mark Stewart KC told the jury the evidence that his client had fallen asleep “doesn’t exist”.
He said: “How can we reach conclusions if we don’t listen to experts?
“What the crown wants you to do is ignore them and rely on speculation.”
Fight or flight
Giving evidence, grandfather-of-four Craik told Ms Apostolova he didn’t know whether he had fallen asleep or fainted.
He said he “came to” when he heard a thud as he drove through the countryside, near Rait.
He noticed his windscreen was shattered, but couldn’t see anything when he checked his rear view mirrors so kept on driving. In his words, “fight or flight took over”.
Once he got home, he decided to go back and check what had happened.
When he returned to the scene, he saw blue flashing lights on the road ahead.
Suspecting he may have caused a serious accident, Craik drove straight to Perth police station.
There, he told PC Ryan Walker: “I hit something. I think I was overcome with heat and maybe fell asleep.”
Initially believing he had struck a deer, Craik said he was “totally shocked” to learn he had hit two teenage girls. “I felt terrible,” he said.
Sheriff David Hall told Craik called for background reports and deferred sentence until next month.
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