Killer drink-driver mowed down pair of good Samaritans

A DRINK-driver killed two people as they tried to help an elderly woman trapped in the wreckage of her smashed car, a court has heard.

• Thomas Irvine admitted causing the deaths of Thomas Rarity and Anthony Gordon by driving dangerously and at excessive speed Picture: Iain McLellan/Spindrift

Thomas Irvine admitted causing the deaths of Thomas Rarity and Anthony Gordon by driving dangerously and at excessive speed on the A737 near Linwood, at the High Court in Glasgow yesterday.

Prosecutor Alex Prentice, QC, said Irvine, who was more than double the legal drink driving limit, ploughed into the two men and the Volkswagen Polo, which was on its side, in his Vauxhall Combo van, causing horrific head injuries.

Irvine, 48, an HGV driver and a plumber from Paisley who has held a driving licence for 31 years, was travelling fast - possibly at more than 70mph - when he hit the upturned car.

He did not brake and after the collision his van ended up in a ditch. The impact caused the Polo to roll across the carriageway and right itself.

Mr Rarity, 47, died at the scene and Mr Gordon, 39, died six days later on 6 February in Glasgow's Southern General Hospital.

The court heard that seconds before the crash Mr Rarity, from Bathgate, left his wife Angela Frame and his stepson John Frame, 24, in their Volkswagen Sharan and ran to help the elderly woman. He was joined by Mr Gordon, from Glasgow, who left his BMW and went to her aid.

Both men crossed the eastbound carriageway and climbed over the central crash barrier into the westbound carriageway and were trying to get 71-year-old Isabella Kelly out of her car.

They had been standing by the Polo for about 40 seconds when Irvine overtook a row of cars stopped on the inside lane of the dual carriageway with their hazard warning lights on. Mr Frame said he heard a loud bang "like a bomb going off". He ran over and saw Mr Rarity lying dead on the road. Staff nurse Denise Kelly, who was travelling home from work, stopped to help and also saw Mr Rarity lying in the road. Mr Prentice said: "She saw the accused standing beside Mr Rarity and talking on the phone. He told her: 'I think I've broken my wrist.'"

She did not check Irvine, but instead checked Mr Rarity, who did not have a pulse, and then turned her attention to Mr Gordon, who was making noises, breathing and had a pulse. He was taken to the Southern General Hospital where he later died.

Mr Prentice added: "All the other drivers at the scene were of the firm view that the crashed Polo was visible on the road and indeed they had all taken account of what was happening ahead and slowed their vehicles in time and activated warning lights."

One driver, James Bryson, asked Irvine why he had not seen the overturned car and he replied: "I tried my best to avoid it."

The court heard that the initial accident happened after Ms Kelly, who was driving her Volkswagen Polo eastbound, pulled out from the inside lane into the path of a Seat Leon driven by Victoria Walker which was in the outside lane. The impact caused the Polo to cross the central reservation and ended up upside down in the westbound carriageway. Ms Kelly suffered a cut to her head and injuries to her ankles and shoulder.

When questioned by police at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, Irvine said: "I need to be honest with you, I had three or four pints in my local."

The court also heard he had spent the day before the accident drinking to celebrate his birthday and had not eaten on 31 January. The court was told that it was not possible to calculate the speed Irvine was doing, although eye-witnesses described it as "flying", "unnecessarily fast" and "haring".

Mr Prentice added: "From the witness evidence, along with the damage to the vehicles and the resultant position of the vehicles and injuries sustained by the pedestrians, it is likely the van was travelling at a ‘significant' speed at impact."

Defence counsel Laura Reilly asked for Irvine to be given bail to allow him "one last Christmas at home" with his wife, two daughters and two grandchildren. But Judge Lord Pentland remanded Irvine in custody and told him: "The public interest would be better served by you being remanded."

He will be sentenced next year at the High Court in Edinburgh.