A banned driver who killed a young mum in a horrific crash when he fell asleep at the wheel on the A90 between Perth and Dundee was jailed for five years and three months.
Edward Carty, 31, allowed the car to drift and veer off the road dual carriageway near Errol, before it struck trees, fatally injuring his girlfriend Rebecca Tasker, 32, from Forfar.
Two young children in the car were uninjured but a judge said they will live with the “devastating” consequences.
Carty had driven for about 14 hours on a cross country road trip from Arbroath to Lochinver and back before tragedy struck.
Lord Young told him at the High Court in Edinburgh: “Rebecca Tasker was a young woman who was part of a close and loving family.”
He added: “The sentence I will pass today is not in any sense a measure of the value of the life that has been lost.”
He told Carty if he was convicted of the fatal driving offence after a trial he would have sentenced him to seven years in prison.
TikTok admission
Carty, of Blackburn, England, earlier admitted causing the death of Ms Tasker on August 12 in 2022 by driving dangerously.
He drove while fatigued and falling asleep after undertaking the 14-hour journey without sufficient rest breaks.
He allowed the vehicle to drift and then steered excessively, causing it to cross the road and failed to regain control before it went down an embankment, striking two trees.
The two children, aged 10 and seven, were pulled from the car and another passenger, a teenage friend of Carty, also escaped unharmed.
Ms Tasker was pronounced dead at the scene after suffering spinal and neck injuries.
Carty, who was injured and suffered a stroke, later posted on the social media app TikTok he had fallen asleep.
He said: “I fell asleep behind the wheel, but I pulled over 15 times asking my girlfriend to drive but she wouldn’t drive even though it was her car.”
Previous offences
Defence solicitor advocate Brian Bell said: “He has asked me to express his genuine remorse for the consequences of his deliberate driving on that particular day.”
He said Carty and Ms Tasker had been in a relationship for about six weeks when the incident occurred.
The court heard Carty has previous convictions for driving without a licence, without insurance and while disqualified as well as for offences of violence and dishonesty.
He was banned from driving for nine years and four months.
For more local court content visit our page or join us on Facebook.
