Icy road death crash driver was going too fast, says expert

Kieran Ramsay.

A YOUNG mechanic who died when his van left the road in the Black Isle was to blame for the crash despite icy road conditions, a fatal accident inquiry has been told.

Police road accident expert PC George Lemmon said although icy road conditions at the time contributed to the accident which killed 22-year-old Kieran Ramsay, the young mechanic was "entirely responsible" for the crash by failing to take account of the adverse weather.

The road accident expert from Northern Constabulary Road Policing Unit said Mr Ramsay was not wearing a seatbelt and at the point his Volkswagen van left the road, the vehicle was travelling at a minimum speed of 66 miles per hour, exceeding the speed limit for that type of vehicle which is 50 miles per hour.

Mr Ramsay, from Avoch, was killed on January 17 last year when his works van left the B9161 Artafallie to Munlochy road on the Black Isle and hit a tree.

Just weeks later, his grieving girlfriend Ahlee Jackson was driving pal Callum Matheson (17) in the sporty Skoda Fabia VRS once owned by Kieran when it also hit a tree at the junction of Island Bank Road and Drummond Crescent, in Inverness. It was later discovered that Ahlee, who was driving, had been drinking and did not have a driving licence.

The FAI at Dingwall Sheriff Court was told drains at the scene of the accident had been unable to cope with water flowing across the camber of the road at the accident scene causing ice to form.

PC Lemmon said in his evidence today his report after the accident concluded road conditions were undoubtedly a factor but he added in his report "the responsibility rests entirely with the driver of the vehicle. He failed to take into account the adverse weather".

PC Lemmon told depute fiscal Ron Phillips the driver should have been aware of the cold weather and the possibility of ice. He said his investigations showed Mr Ramsay’s van crossed the road diagonally before striking the verge head on and missing several trees before colliding with another tree. He said Mr Ramsay was not wearing a seatbelt but added "I don’t think it would have made any difference whatsoever."

The FAI also heard from Highland Council’s Community work’s manager, Ian Hay, who was on duty on the night of the accident.

He was asked by depute fiscal Ron Phillips if he was of the opinion that the road was sufficiently protected for careful drivers over that weekend, to which he replied, "yes".

Mr Hay said sensors on the road showed that gritting was at a level which indicated there was no justification for further gritting. He said at that time of year you get snow melt along the edge of the road but the bend where the accident occurred was not one which had featured in previous complaints.

Earlier the court heard conditions on the road described as atrocious by other witnesses.

Police Constable Calum Macrae (50) was the first officer at the scene of the accident . He said conditions at a junction at Fraser’s Garage near the crash scene were “atrocious” and a bend close to the crash scene was also covered in ice.

He said: “Even if I had not been going to an accident I would have been reducing my speed.”

T he first driver at the scene of the accident was Scott MacBeth (18) an apprentice joiner, of Crawford Avenue, Rosemarkie. He told the inquiry he nearly lost control of his Renault Clio on a bend close to the crash scene.

Mr MacBeth was travelling from Avoch towards Bogallan when he received a text message from a friend Ashleigh Bell warning him about the icy road conditions at Fraser’s junction.

He described how his car skidded on ice on the bend at 50-55mph, and the back end of his car crossed the centre line of the road. “If another car was coming, I probably would have hit it,” he said.

Twenty-year-old hairdresser Miss Bell, of Mackay Terrace, Avoch, said she had been to Inverness for a pizza that night with her boyfriend. They passed Scott’s car on their way home to Avoch and she texted him warning him of the road conditions.

She said her boyfriend had slowed down because it was icy from the moment they got off the A9 and he was flashing his lights to warn other drivers he knew because of the road conditions.

The inquiry continues.