Drug-driver jailed for killing man and dog

Published on Tuesday 7 October 2008 22:20

A WOMAN who killed a man and his dog while driving under the influence of drugs and drink was jailed for seven years yesterday, as a judge said that the courts would do what they could to make Scotland's roads safer.

Ashley Smith, 33, lost control of her car, mounted the pavement and hit and killed Colin McGregor, 40, as he walked his dog.

Lord Woolman told Smith that she had been a danger to herself and to others when she decided to drive in her condition. He said: "The court must drive home the message that dangerous driving, particularly under the influence of drink and/or drugs, is a very serious crime that may have the gravest consequences."

The victim's widow, Lynn McGregor, 37, said her family had suffered "utter devastation". She said the sentence was probably the best she could have hoped for, but added: "We have got a life sentence. She has taken away a good man."

Mr McGregor, of Kirriemuir, Angus, who had daughters aged six and four, had taken out the family's labrador on 24 June last year and was knocked down a short distance from his home.

A Vauxhall Astra had been seen moving erratically about the road, and it crossed to the opposite carriageway and then mounted the pavement, hitting Mr McGregor and throwing him into trees.

Smith, of Kirriemuir, the mother of a nine-year-old boy who attended the same school as Mr McGregor's children, admitted causing his death by dangerous driving.

The court was told she had been drinking into the early hours of that day, and took ecstasy and cannabis. She was driving home from Dundee in the early evening.

A witness found her in the wreckage of her car, and she said: "I killed someone. I was going too fast. My friends said I should have stayed, and I should have stayed where I was, but I wanted to get home."

Yesterday, the defence counsel, Tim Niven-Smith, offered a public apology on Smith's behalf and said she was "genuinely remorseful".

He added: "Unfortunately, as is true in most of these cases, the people involved often are of very good previous character. She is no different. She has been shocked by this incident and her health has suffered."

Lord Woolman said: "As a result of the offence, a young father has died. The death of another person is the greatest harm that anyone can inflict."

The judge stressed that no sentence could measure the value of Mr McGregor's life or the extent of his family's grief. Such matters were beyond calculation, he said.

Smith's driving had fallen far below the standard to be expected of a competent, careful driver.

"The critical factor is it must have been obvious to you that you should not have been driving that evening," the judge told Smith.