By Lars Niven

A TEENAGER from the west of Fife has been cleared of causing an accident in which a 91-year-old man was killed as he tried to cross a busy road.

Widower John McKinley, from Dunfermline, died after he walked into the path of a Renault Clio being driven by trainee electrician Keith Paterson.

It emerged during a trial at Dunfermline Sheriff Court yesterday that Paterson had passed his driving test just eight months before the tragic accident.

However, Sheriff Ian Dunbar heard he was only doing 26 mph, his car was in good condition and he was paying attention to what was going on around him.

Paterson (19), of The Castings, Dunfermline, denied driving without due care and attention on Baldridgeburn on November 14, 2004.

The charge alleged his car struck Mr McKinley as a result of his carelessness.

During the course of the day-long trial, the court heard how Mr McKinley, who was described as a fit man for his age, had lost his wife just eight weeks prior to the accident.

His relatives had noticed his short-term memory was beginning to go and doctors suggested he was displaying the early signs of dementia.

A neighbour who knew him described how just a couple of weeks before the accident he had walked out from behind a bus into the path of his car.

Mr McKinley raised his arm as if ordering the traffic to stop before continuing across the road.

Graham Tonge was driving down Baldridgeburn about 150 yards behind Paterson when he saw the accused’s car stop in the middle of the road.

He didn’t think anything of it, but when he pulled alongside Paterson’s car he noticed the windscreen was smashed.

Mr Tonge, from Rosyth, told depute fiscal Rebecca Kynaston he got out to see what had happened.

The former Royal Navy first-aider said he saw Mr McKinley lying in the middle of the road.

Paterson was standing beside his car and he heard him say, “For God’s sake help! He stepped out in front of me.”

Mr Tonge went straight over to help Mr McKinley.

He described how he found him lying in a pool of blood and was making a spluttering sound as he tried to breathe.

He said, “He was definitely unconscious. He wasn’t reacting to anything and there was a lot of blood around the back of his head.

“I checked for a pulse.”

Mr Tonge added that another first-aider and then a doctor turned up and they tried to revive Mr McKinley.

However, the pensioner died at the scene despite their efforts.

Mr Tonge said there appeared to be nothing untoward about the way in which Paterson was driving at the time of the accident.

When asked by Miss Kynaston if he had seen any pedestrians, he replied, “No, I didn’t notice any, but I wasn’t looking for pedestrians.”

PC Ian Poolman, a specialist crash investigator, said he believed Paterson should have seen Mr McKinley and been aware that he might step into the road.

Had he done so he might not have avoided a collision, but it would have occurred at a lower speed.

He concluded the accused was “in part responsible” for the accident, but added that Mr McKinley should have checked to make sure there was nothing coming.

Paterson told the court he had driven down Baldridgeburn to work for the past three years and knew the road well.

It was because he knew drivers might pull across in front of him at the junction with Broomhead that he was driving within the speed limit.

“There’s a tendency for people to pull out quite quickly or turn in across the traffic,” he said.

“From what I can recall, just as I was passing the bus stop that’s where I started to check on the traffic in front of me.

“As I changed my view line out of the corner of my eye I saw a beige colour.

“That’s the only way I can describe it.

“The next thing I knew the man was in front of my car and that’s when I heard the bang.

“I stood on the brakes as quickly as I could.”

When asked by his solicitor, Brian Tait, if he felt he had done anything wrong, he replied, “No.”

Sheriff Dunbar said, “This is a sad case resulting in the death of Mr McKinley.”

He added that it was not clear exactly when Mr McKinley stepped into the road and became a hazard to traffic.

That left him with a reasonable doubt and he accordingly acquitted Paterson.