A one-time mobile windscreen repair man failed to stop his van in time to avoid hitting two girls at a pedestrian crossing in Perth.
Scott Whyte ran into the girls at a crossing on the A85 Perth to Crieff road near Huntingtower Road as he was returning home from a call-out last year, Perth Sheriff Court was told last Wednesday.
Fiscal depute Elizabeth Hodgson said the girls, who were both aged 13 at the time of the incident, activated traffic lights at the crossing before they set off to the other side but Whyte did not notice the red stopping signal until it was too late.
“The accused failed to stop for the red light and collided with the complainers, knocking them to the ground,” she said. “The accused immediately stopped the van and approached them.”
Ms Hodgson said a paramedic had luckily been passing by and went to the girls’ aid almost immediately after being hit by Whyte’s van on January 7 last year.
“Police attended the locus and observed the accused and his vehicle still in situ,” Ms Hodgson continued. “At the time both complainers were being assisted by the paramedic.”
Ms Hodgson said Whyte then approached the officers and owned up to driving into the girls and also having dash cam footage which would show what happened.
“The dash cam footage was viewed and showed the accused failing to stop for the red light,” she said.
Ms Hodgson said both girls were then taken to hospital for further assessment but were found to have only sustained “minor cuts and bruises” during the collision.
“The accused was cautioned and charged and made no reply,” she continued.
Ms Hodgson added one of the girls went on to suffer flashbacks of the incident and has since gone on to seek psychiatric help to deal with her ongoing trauma.
Whyte (31), of Hermitage Drive, Perth, pled guilty to a single charge of failing to observe and comply with a red traffic signal and colliding with the two girls, both now aged 14, and injuring them.
A solicitor acting for Whyte said he was “extremely remorseful” over his failure to stop for the girls that day.
He added the route taken through Perth by Whyte that day was one he had driven “hundreds of times” and his only explanation for failing to notice the red signal was that he had been focusing into the distance instead of what was in front of him.
Sheriff Francis Gill opted to defer sentencing Whyte and requested a criminal justice social work report be prepared on him over the next few weeks.
Whyte is next scheduled to appear in court on April 27 when it is expected he will be sentenced. He has been disqualified from driving in the meantime.
