A Fife motorist who crashed into a vintage motorcycle has told a court how he feared he had killed the rider and passenger.
Ryan Hunter said he did not see the black Matchless G11 vehicle until the moment of impact.
The short-sighted 22-year-old accepted that he had turned in front of the 1957 bike, but denied an allegation that he had not been wearing his glasses at the time of the collision.
After a two-day trial at Dunfermline Sheriff Court a jury found him guilty of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, but deleted the accusation that he was not wearing glasses.
‘Big bang’
Rider Rod Towers and his wife Helen, who was riding pillion, suffered severe injuries in the crash on the Kelty to Cowdenbeath road.
Mrs Towers suffered breaks to her left leg and arm, while Mr Towers suffered damage to his hip and wrist.
Hunter said he suffered a cut to his leg and banged his head off the car’s “B pillar”, the structural support behind the driver’s door.
He told the court that he had slowed down and intended to turn into a lay-by on the opposite side of the road to answer his phone.
He said he was completely unaware of the motorcycle until the collision.
“The only time I became aware of it was when it hit my car,” he told his trial.
“I didn’t know what it was at the time, I just remember a big bang and glass from the passenger window hitting my face.
“I cut my leg and banged my head off the B pillar, where you grab the seatbelt from.
“After the bang I continued into the layby, which was a matter of six feet from where the bang happened.
“My glasses went flying off, and I was shocked and dazed.”
Visibility impacted by shadow
Hunter told the court: “I got out and saw Mr and Mrs Towers lying in the road.
“The motorcycle was lying on top of Mr Towers, on his leg, and Mrs Towers was lying a short distance from that.
“Initially I thought they’d passed away.
“I was crying – I still get emotional to this day.”
Asked why he did not see the motorbike, Hunter said: “The only thing I can think of is the motorcycle was black, the riders were in black and the tree shadow hasn’t helped – I just didn’t see them.”
Hunter was breathalysed by road traffic police and also asked to carry out an eyesight test.
Roadside eye test
The court had earlier heard from PC Michael Rodger, who spoke to Hunter at the scene.
He said: “When I require someone to do an eye test, I ask ‘do you need corrective lenses?’
“He wasn’t wearing them at the time.
“He said he wasn’t wearing them as they had broken.
“I took that to be he wasn’t wearing them at the time of the accident.”
Hunter told the court that without his glasses he could not see more than six feet clearly and therefore it was “absurd” to suggest he was not wearing them at the time of the crash.
He said PC Rodger had “misunderstood” him when questioning him at the scene.
He said: “I said I wear my glasses when I drive but they’re broken.
“I think he’s taken that the wrong way.”
A jury found Hunter, of Balingry Crescent, Balingry, guilty of seriously injuring Mr and Mrs Towers on the A909 Kelty to Cowdenbeath road on September 18 2020.
Sentence was deferred for reports.
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