Nairn pensioner found not guilty at Inverness court for crash that killed 91-year-old
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A sheriff backed the view that a driver blacked out moments before causing a collision in Nairn.
The case against Christina Cameron (75), of Osprey Crescent, Nairn revolved around whether or not she lost consciousness or attention as she negotiated the junction between the town's Thurlow Road and Seafield Street on January 21, 2021.
She was accused of causing death by careless driving, but after hearing four days of evidence, Sheriff Ian Cruickshank found her not guilty.
Cameron had given evidence that she knew the route and the junction well and always turned left into Seafield Street.
She could not explain why on this occasion she had travelled straight on into the extension of Thurlow Road and into the path of a Honda CRV.
The collision propelled her onto the pavement where James Alexander (91) was waiting to cross the road. He died in hospital four days later from spinal and pelvic injuries.
It was not disputed that she was at the wheel of her Mazda and caused Mr Alexander's death after a police collision expert decided that there was no braking before the collision while the damage to both vehicles and marks on the road indicated the Mazda was to blame.
Other witnesses recalled Cameron being in a daze after the collision, complaining of not knowing what happened and walking round in circles making no sense.
Fiscal depute Niall Macdonald called his own expert witness, consultant cardiologist Dr Stuart Hutcheon, who concluded that it was a "theoretical possibility" that Cameron had suffered a syncopathic event (faint). However he said it was "highly unlikely" as there was a lack of previous history or symptoms.
He also disputed that a rapid change in temperatures for Cameron going from a cold walk into a warm car would have resulted in a black out or that she had been suffering from low blood pressure.
But defence counsel Ewan Dow's expert, another consultant cardiologist, Professor Adrian Brady, took the view that the environmental changes and Cameron's recorded low blood pressure from medication to treat high blood pressure could have brought on a faint.
He recalled other cases he had dealt with where there was no previous history of black outs, no warning and immediate recovery.
He said he had blacked out in his kitchen with no prior warning and then immediately recovered. He also said the fact that the pain of Cameron breaking her sternum in the crash could have brought her round to remember the aftermath but not the moments leading up to the tragedy.
However he conceded that it was either syncope (fainting) also known as a Transient Loss of Consciousness (TLOC) or a lack of attention which caused the accident.
Sheriff Cruickshank was unequivocal in his verdict, .
He said: "It is clear that transient lack of consciousness is a complex field and the experts' conclusions differ. Their opinion is there for my assistance.
"If she was returning to her home, she would have turned left into Seafield Street and not carry on to Thurlow Road which would have been an illogical route.
"I applaud the other witnesses for their actions after the collision and they are to be commended. But they could not shed any light on what happened or her driving beforehand.
"Her behaviour afterwards may have been indicative of shock but also could have been due to a black out. But I have concluded that it was not a theoretical possibility that she blacked out before the collision. It was an entire probability that she did and therefore no blame should be attributed to her for this. I find her not guilty."
Cameron burst into tears at the sheriff's judgment, said "thank you" to the sheriff, Mr Dow and Mr Macdonald but would make no comment afterwards.
