A motorist who previously served a prison sentence for causing the death of a cyclist has been handed a community service order after striking a second cyclist who later died. Gary McCourt, 49, from Edinburgh, knocked down 75-year-old Audrey Fyfe, a former member of the Cycle Touring Club, in August 2011.
McCourt claimed a 'momentary lapse of concentration' caused the collision at a junction, where he clipped Fyfe's rear wheel, causing her to somersault through the air. She died from her injuries two days later. Sheriff James Scott sentenced McCourt to 300 hours of community service and imposed a five-year driving ban for causing death by careless driving.
During the trial, Sheriff Scott noted that Fyfe's failure to wear a cycling helmet contributed to her death, though he stressed she was not to blame for the accident. 'Mrs Fyfe wasn't to blame in any way for the accident. However, she was not wearing a safety helmet and that in my view contributed to her death,' he said.
The court heard that McCourt had been jailed for two years in 1986 for causing death by reckless driving after killing cyclist George Dalgity, 22, in central Edinburgh. McCourt's solicitor, Robert Fairbairn, said his client was unemployed and suffering from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, expressing genuine remorse for the incident.
Ann Dalgity, sister of McCourt's previous victim, told the Edinburgh Evening News she believed McCourt should receive a stiff sentence. 'That's two people he has killed through careless driving. We don't want there to be a third,' she said.
