Court told how driver's brother died in car crash

A MECHANIC killed his 17-year-old brother in a crash after he lost control of a sports car, a court was told yesterday.

At the High Court in Glasgow 23-year-old Shaun Convery admitted causing the death of his brother Jamie on the A726 Hurlet Road in Paisley on 1 August, last year, by careless driving. He also admitted having no insurance.

And yesterday Jamie's heartbroken parents John and Jacqueline told Judge Lord Turnbull that they have lost one son and don't want to lose another one.

Prosecutor Tim Niven-Smith said: "That is how they view the imposition of a custodial sentence."

The court heard that Convery, of Peat Road, Glasgow, had only driven the Toyota MR2 for the first time that day. Around 6pm, Convery drove the sports car, with his brother Jamie - an apprentice electrician - in the passenger seat.

They were on their way home when he lost control of the two-seater and collided with an oncoming Mercedes.

The court was told that the MR2 began to slide sideways with smoke coming from the wheels and the tyres were screeching. The car began to rotate and mounted the central reservation of the dual carriageway before hitting the Mercedes. The court was told that the force of the impact was such that the Toyota split in two.

Another motorist who had stopped to help heard Jamie take a last breath and then his eyes became fixed. He told the driver of the MR2 to stay where he was and it was only when Convery asked "how's my brother" that he realised they were related.

Lord Turnbull deferred sentence on Convery for background reports and disqualified him in the interim. He will be sentenced in Edinburgh next month.