A disqualified driver who caused the death of a great-grandfather by crashing into the garden where he was working and hitting him with a stolen Maserati has been jailed for more than 13 years.
John Bell, 74, suffered “non-survivable injuries” when he was struck by the car and pinned against the wall of a house in Broughty Ferry near Dundee on April 13 this year.
Guilty plea and sentencing
Fraser Garden, 55, admitted causing Mr Bell’s death by dangerous driving at a hearing at the High Court in Edinburgh last month. He also admitted theft of a motor vehicle, driving without insurance, driving while disqualified, and failing to provide a blood sample for drug testing.
Garden was jailed for 13 years and six months when he returned to the court for sentencing on Friday. Lord Baird, who also banned Garden from driving for more than 56 years, said his offending was of the “utmost severity”.
Judge’s remarks
He said: “From the moment you drove away from the garage, you demonstrated wicked disregard for the lives of others. No sentence this court can impose can possibly hope to make up for the loss Mr Bell’s family and friends have suffered.”
The court previously heard Garden entered a car showroom in Broughty Ferry in the early afternoon of April 13 and stole a high-powered Maserati parked in the forecourt. He then drove the vehicle at speeds in excess of 80mph through a residential area of the town, nearly three times the 30mph limit.
Crash details
Garden also jumped a red light, drove on the wrong side of the road, and overtook vehicles into the face of oncoming traffic. He lost control of the vehicle at a bend at the junction of Forthill Road and Nursery Road, less than 750 metres from the showroom.
He clipped a kerb, struck a traffic island and then ploughed through a hedge into a garden where Mr Bell was doing some work for a neighbour. The front of the car struck the former taxi driver before pinning him against the wall of the house.
At the hearing last month, prosecutor Graeme Jessop KC told the court Garden had been travelling at 85mph just 3.3 seconds before the crash. When the car struck the house it was still doing 34mph. Mr Jessop said when police arrested Garden on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, he said: “Sorry.”
Background and impact
Garden had 90 previous convictions including “numerous” motoring offences, and had been under three separate disqualifications from driving on the day of the incident, Mr Jessop said. The court heard Mr Bell had three children, 10 adult grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Mr Jessop told the court that on the day of the incident, Garden had seen the unlocked Maserati while wandering around West End Garage. The vehicle belonged to the garage’s director. Mr Jessop said the 523-brake horsepower car could go from 0-60mph in 4.6 seconds and had a top speed of 193mph.
