Driver jailed for crash that left five people dead

An Italian tourist convicted of causing the deaths of five people - including his own four-year-old son - in a crash in north east Scotland has been jailed.

Alfredo Ciociola, 50, drove a minibus on the wrong side of the road and collided head-on with a car on the A96 near Keith in July 2018.

Three passengers in the car were killed, along with Ciociola's friend Frances Saliba and his son Lorenzo.

He was jailed for three years at the High Court in Livingston.

He was also disqualified from driving for 10 years in the UK.

Naval officer Ciociola was convicted of causing death by careless driving last month after a trial.

He had denied that he had fallen asleep or repeatedly driven on to the wrong side of the A96.

Lord Mulholland told Ciociola the consequences of his driving had been "catastrophic", and the victim impact statements were "heartbreaking".

The judge said: "I consider that your driving fell not that far short of dangerous."

The three people who died in the car - Audrey Appleby, Evalyn Collie and Edward Reid - had been returning from a dancing event at the time of the crash.

The car's driver, Morag Smith, was badly injured.

In a statement released through Digby Brown Solicitors she said she welcomed the sentence.

"However it also strange because in reality the damage is done and the length of time Ciociola spends behind bars makes no real impact on my day-to-day life," she said.

"I now just want to get on with rebuilding some kind of future."

Ciociola was extradited from Italy after failing to attend an earlier court appearance in Scotland.

The jail sentence was backdated to 9 May when he was taken into custody in the UK.

He went on trial accused of causing death by dangerous driving, which he denied. The jury decided he was guilty of causing death by careless driving.

Ciociola was asked during the trial how he felt about three people dying in the other car.

He said: "It is the most terrible thing that you can hear and the pain of the families is also my pain."

After the crash, passers-by - including circus performers - alerted emergency services and tried to help the victims.

Acrobat David Amoll told the trial that he used a sledgehammer to break a rear window of the minibus.

A colleague went into the vehicle and brought out two children. One was unresponsive, while the other was covered in blood and was crying.

Ms Smith and her passengers had been travelling home from an Elgin Country Music Club dance when the crash happened.

Club president Billy Main said he had been "totally shocked".

"They were very nice people," he said. "It's the worst thing that's happened to the club. It was unbelievable."

Police Scotland Chief Insp Andrew Barclay described it as an "incredibly distressing" incident which affected many lives.

"It is a stark example of the consequences of driving while unfit to do so safely," he said. "In this instance Alfredo Ciociola continued to drive, despite being tired and ultimately, he fell asleep at the wheel, leading to this tragedy.

"It shows how any lapse in concentration while driving can result in tragedy. The impact of this incident on everyone who responded on the day and also on the wider community cannot be underestimated."