Lybster woman admits causing toddler’s death by careless driving in A99 crash

A Lybster woman has admitted having driven carelessly and caused the death of a toddler in a road crash.

Sonya Henderson will be sentenced next month by Sheriff Neil Wilson who said it was “a very serious charge” and warned that “all options would be open to him.”

The accident occurred on the A99, 12 miles south of Wick, on August 22, 2021. Henderson (42) was travelling south.

Wick Sheriff Court heard on Monday that the accused, of Main Street, Lybster, failed to maintain proper observation whereby her Nissan Qashqai entered the opposing carriageway into the path of an oncoming Peugeot 208, driven by Savannah Nixey.

Ms Nixey was heading north after visiting a play park. Ashlyne Mackay was in the front passenger seat and her 35-month-old son, Iain, was in a booster seat in the back, asleep.

Both vehicles were travelling well within the speed limit.

Niall MacDonald said that the force of the impact resulted in the rear of Henderson’s Qashqai being raised off the ground then rotating 180 degrees anti-clockwise and coming to rest in the northbound lane, facing back towards the direction in which it had come.

The fiscal depute continued: “The Peugeot was pushed downwards, causing some lower parts of its undercarriage and front driver’s wheel to make contact with the road. It then slid sideways across both lanes, still facing in the direction it was travelling, and came to rest partly on the southbound lane.”

A householder ran from his house after hearing “a bang” and contacted the emergency services.

The man recalled asking Henderson what had happened and she replied: “I swerved... are they all right?”

Mrs Mackay, trapped by her legs, was freed by firefighters who removed the vehicle’s front door and roof. She had multiple orthopaedic injuries.

Mr MacDonald said that that her son, Iain Mackay, was transferred to the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow and then to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary so his mother could be with him prior to his life support being withdrawn.

Ms Nixey was taken to Caithness General Hospital and was kept in for two nights before being discharged.

Mr MacDonald said that having considered all of the available evidence, the opinion of the experts who investigated the crash and the Crown was that “for reasons unknown, Henderson had allowed her car to enter the wrong, oncoming lane and despite applying significant left steering for between two and two-and-a-half seconds, pre-collision, and up to the collision, was unable to return her vehicle to its correct lane, at which point it was fully in its incorrect lane”.

The court heard that ROSPA advised that all children in child seats or booster seats should be configured properly. It stated that a lap seat belt was far better than no seat belt at all but continued: “Iain Mackay would have been better protected had the diagonal seat belt not been placed behind his body in the honest belief that that was how it should be configured.

“However, it cannot be asserted with certainty that he would have survived had it been properly configured.”

Earlier, prior to the case being heard, Sheriff Wilson addressed spectators in the public benches.

He said that it was “perfectly understandable” that emotions might run high in such a case but appealed to them to keep these emotions in check as it was a court of law and it was important that matters were conducted in a civilised manner. The sheriff warned he would deal with anyone who interrupted the proceedings.

Henderson will return to court for sentencing on January 21 after the sheriff considers a background report and hears mitigation from her solicitor, James McKay. The accused is meantime banned from driving.