Lorry driver denies causing death of nursery teacher by dangerous driving
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A nursery teacher was thrown 35m along a pavement after a lorry's stabiliser leg struck her on the back, resulting in fatal multiple fractures.
Chloe Morrison was walking with her mother near Drumnadrochit on October 25, 2019 when 52-year-old John O'Donnell's large goods vehicle with an on-board crane passed her near Kerrowdown on the A82. He denies causing her death by dangerous driving.
The High Court in Inverness heard on the first day of his jury trial before Lord Stuart that there was agreement between prosecution and defence on several facts.
It was accepted that O'Donnell of Crossover Road, Inverurie, failed to observe that the leg – known as an outrigger – was fully extended and held in position over the pavement when he struck 26-year-old Ms Morrison. He was travelling at 49mph and ran over her leg.
She died from injuries to her head, chest, abdomen and pelvis, which caused fractures to her skull, vertebrae, ribs, and brain stem.
The jury heard that O'Donnell was not licensed or trained to operate the lorry loader crane which was travelling from Kilmuir Cemetery on the Isle of Skye back to his employer's base in Oldmeldrum after delivering ducts for fibre optic cabling.
The jury was told that he had only joined Glenevin Construction a few days earlier.
It is alleged that O’Donnell unlocked and used the “outrigger legs” on the loader of the HGV and that he repeatedly failed to use his wing mirrors to see that one leg was “insecure”.
It is also claimed that one of the legs was “protruding” and almost hit someone on the A82 at Drumnadrochit prior to ending up in a locked position and fully extended over the pavement, killing Ms Morrison.
Retail worker 54-year-old Laura Cowie said she was travelling west on the A82 when she saw the lorry stopped on the road.
She told the trial: "I thought it may have hit an animal but then I could make out the figure of a person. The lorry driver was in a state, his head in his hands and then he fell onto the side of the road. He collapsed in a state of shock.
"I said to him not to look. He couldn't believe what had happened and said when he stopped on the other side of Drumnadrochit he did a walk-round of the lorry."
Health and safety adviser Darren van der Boon was working for Glenevin when O'Donnell joined and he gave him an induction course.
The former HGV driver said that O'Donnell checked the vehicle on October 24 – the day he set off on the fateful journey.
Asked by defence QC Tony Graham to comment on the check, Mr van der Boon replied: "He did well. He spent over 15 minutes doing it. If he had taken short cuts, I would have stopped him from going out."
However he told advocate depute David Dickson.that he did not see if the driver had checked the outrigger legs. He added that he did not know if the lorry was equipped with audible alarms to alert the driver if the the crane was not housed properly or the outriggers were extended.
The trial, which is expected to last all of this week, continues.
