Driver caused fatal crash on A82 in Balloch after phone distraction

A driver killed a motorbike pillion passenger after a phone call from his wife distracted him, a court has heard.

Bus driver Gavin Aitken was driving a company car to a depot when he ploughed into the motorbike on the A82 near Balloch, West Dunbartonshire, on 31 August 2020.

Liam Scott, 21, was riding pillion and suffered a fatal head injury.

Aitken, 49, admitted to a charge of causing death by dangerous driving at the High Court in Glasgow.

He will be sentenced next month.

Aitken was a driver for Garelochhead Coaches at the time.

He finished his shift that afternoon and took a company Volkswagen Golf to get back to the firm's depot.

Aitken stopped en-route to meet his wife and she then followed in her Vauxhall Corsa.

Mr Scott, from Irvine, Ayrshire, was a passenger on a Suzuki bike driven by his 23-year-old friend Stewart McKenzie.

The pair were on their way to Loch Lomond.

Aitken, from Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire, ended up directly behind the bike on the A82.

Prosecutor Louise Beattie told the court: "At 17:11, Aitken received an incoming phone call from his wife.

"It forwarded to voicemail. Aitken accepts that he was distracted by the phone call. This was an avoidable distraction which caused him to take his eyes off the road.

"He became involved with the phone in the crucial seconds leading up to the approach to the junction."

As a result, Aitken's car hit the rear wheel of the Suzuki as the bike slowed to turn right at Auchenheglish Lodges in Balloch.

Mr Scott was hurtled backwards and was thrown into the windscreen of the Volkswagen. Mr McKenzie was also thrown from the motorbike.

Aitken, his wife and others - including a nurse and two off-duty doctors - went to help.

Mr Scott was taken to hospital in Glasgow and found to have a significant brain injury. Part of the bike had also embedded into his leg.

He died two days later.

Mr McKenzie received treatment for a fractured and dislocated thumb.

Aitken was charged with causing the collision after crash investigators concluded he had "failed to react appropriately" to the bike in front of him.

Miss Beattie said: "As such, it is fair to say that he was not presented with some unexpected event."

Tony Lenehan KC, defending, said Aitken offered "profound apologies" for what happened.

Lord Young deferred sentencing for reports until July.

He told Aitken: "This led to the death of Liam Scott and the injury of Stewart McKenzie.

"You have pled guilty to a charge that will almost inevitably result in a custodial sentence.

"In the circumstances, I am going to remand you in custody meantime."

After the crash it emerged that Mr Scott was the second child his parents had lost after the death of a daughter six years earlier.

His mum Kelly Scott said at the time: "He was a much loved person, who was game for a laugh and just wanted to live his life to the full.

"Instead, it was ripped from under him in the blink of an eye."