Death driver 'like a rabbit in headlights'

Published on Monday 14 December 2009 08:56

A SCIENTIST accused of causing the death of a pensioner by driving dangerously has told a court he was like a "rabbit in the headlights" as he lost control of his car.

David Hutchins, 85, was fatally injured in the accident at the Original Roslin Inn pub grounds on 13 March last year.

David Griffiths, 41, of Jessfield Terrace, Edinburgh, denies causing the death of Mr Hutchins by dangerous driving.

Giving evidence, Griffiths told the High Court in Edinburgh he had left his work to meet a colleague at Roslin Research Institute.

As he came up to the corner he had pulled out to pass a white car. "As I did so I was dazzled by a light to my right side," he said.

"The next thing I remember is the corner being there and my first reaction was to start to turn left.

"I realised I had gone too far. I just panicked, I was terrified."

He added: "Just like a rabbit in the headlights, I was petrified."

The trial continues.