One of the main dimensions to this was eminently predictable - drunk lying in the middle of the road, in black, after midnight and while raining.
(And I don't think it happened at 12.06pm as stated below - the article at the top says 0.05am, thus just after midnight. 12.06pm is just after midday.)
Looks like the driver was doing 36mph in a 20 zone (although the limit isn't directly stated).
Speeding taxi driver killed grandad outside pub in "horrible accident"https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scot ... d-33351223Muhammad Khan dragged Michael Slevin around 20 yards in the horror incident.A taxi driver was driving at almost twice the speed limit when he killed a pensioner outside a pub, a court heard.
Muhammad Khan claimed he did not see pedestrian Michael Slevin lying in the road before he drove over him in what was described as a “horrible” accident.
After dragging Mr Slevin for around 20 yards before stopping, Khan then reversed his taxi and crushed the grandfather’s inert body for a second time.
Mr Slevin, whose watch was stuck at 12.06 pm after the collision, was given emergency treatment at the roadside. However, doctors at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary pronounced him dead shortly after his arrival there.
Khan appeared for sentence at Livingston Sheriff Court on Monday July 29, after earlier pleading guilty to causing Mr Slevin’s tragic death on Valentine’s Day, 2022, by driving at excessive speed and without due care and attention.
He admitted failing to maintain proper observations of the road ahead and failing to see the pedestrian, who was dressed all in black, lying on the roadway in front of him.
The fatal accident happened outside the Happy Valley Hotel in Blackburn, West Lothian, where Mr Slevin, who lived nearby, had spent the evening socialising with friends.
The Celtic fan is understood to have been celebrating his team's 4-0 defeat of Raith Rovers in the Scottish Cup.
Chris Yule, prosecuting, said it was raining heavily and dark at the time of the accident although the street was well lit.
He said Mr Slevin had drunk two pints of Guinness and five whiskies over the course of the evening before leaving the bar at 11.45pm.
CCTV showed him appearing unsteady on his feet and using a lamppost to support himself but there was no footage to confirm how he came to be lying in the road.
Khan’s passengers, who had been out for a Valentine’s Day meal, were both uncomfortable with his “excessive speed” and were about to ask him to slow down when they felt a thump, Mr Yule said.
The accused got out of the taxi then reversed it slowly before getting out again to look underneath the vehicle, saying he thought he had hit someone.
The fiscal added: “Both passengers looked under the vehicle and saw a person lying there. Both they and the accused were startled.”
The emergency services were called and the taxi was lifted off Mr Slevin so he could be moved. He had suffered “significant and likely fatal injuries” and was also in cardiac arrest.
Forensic accident investigators found damage to the front of the taxi and “body matter” and hair on the nearside sub frame consistent with having struck a person lying on the road.
They found no evidence of tyre marks on the road, which indicated that Khan had not applied the brakes and a review of evidence calculated he had been travelling at 36mph at the time of the impact.
Defence counsel Simon Gilbride said that Khan was a first offender with no previous convictions and a clean driving licence.
He said being the cause of Mr Slevin’s death weighed heavily on his client who had asked him to convey to the deceased’s family his sincere remorse for their loss.
He added: “He describes it as a horrible accident and it must have been very distressing for all who witnessed it.
“It’s clear this has had a profound effect on him and he’s been clear throughout that he’s deeply sorry for what took place.
“He’s unable to sleep at night due to experiencing flashbacks and nightmares and hearing about it again had a profound effect on him causing panic attacks and anxiety.”
Passing sentence, Sheriff Susan Craig told Khan that no blame for the accident could be attached to Mr Slevin.
She said the fact that the accused was a professional driver was an aggravating factor as was the fact that his victim was a vulnerable road user.
She told the accused: “While he was lying on the roadway you drove over him then reversed back over him – he was a pedestrian and vulnerable.
“It’s clear that from the outset of this matter you have exhibited remorse and that’s understandable given a tragedy of this nature.”
She imposed a maximum tariff community sentence on Khan as a direct alternative to prison, electronically tagging him for 12 months on a 7pm to 7am curfew and ordering him to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work within six months.
In addition, she banned him from driving for 32 months and told him he would remain disqualified until he sat and passed the extended test of competence to drive.
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