Collision expert gives evidence at Inverness trial of woman accused of causing Nairn pensioner's death
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A police expert who reconstructed a collision which resulted in the death of a 91-year-old concluded one vehicle had emerged from a junction without giving way to another.
PC Mark Dalloway was giving evidence at Inverness Sheriff Court in the trial of Christina Cameron (75) of Osprey Crescent, Nairn,
She denies causing the death of pedestrian James Alexander by her careless driving on the evening of January 21, 2021.
PC Dalloway told the court that he was able to draw his conclusion from tyre and grind marks on the road, the damage on Miss Cameron's Mazda and the other vehicle involved in the incident – a Honda CRV – and how they moved following the collision.
He said: "The responsibility for the collision lies solely with the driver of the Mazda who failed to give way, there was a collision with the Honda and then the Mazda hit the pedestrian."
He added that driver's inattention was at fault, providing Miss Cameron was "fully alert" at the time of the incident.
On the first day of the trial, Cameron's defence counsel Ewan Dow had questioned medical experts about his client possibly fainting briefly at the wheel.
He will call his own expert witness later in the trial to speak to the subject of syncope (fainting).
PC Dalloway added that, although he could not determine the Mazda's speed, it was not creeping out of the junction nor was it stationary.
His reconstruction and recognised reaction times determined that the Honda driver would only have had half a second to a second to try and avoid crashing into the Mazda he said..
Highway Code reaction times dictate a driver takes one to two seconds to react to a hazard, PC Dalloway told Sheriff Ian Cruickshank.
He conceded that views at the junction were restricted, but even at night the give way white lines on the road were clearly visible.
Mr Alexander died in Raigmore Hospital four days after being hit at the Thurlow Road junction with Seafield Street, Nairn. He suffered severe spinal and pelvis injuries.
The trial continues.
