A van driver allegedly fell asleep at the wheel before mowing down two teenage girls on a remote Perthshire road, a trial has heard.
Sarah Thomas was just 14 when she and her pal Ellie Sinclair, then 15, were involved in the collision near Rait in 2019.
The student told Perth Sheriff Court she woke face down on the road after the crash and found her friend lying in a nearby bush.
Engineer Ronald Craik has gone on trial accused of causing the youngsters serious injury by driving dangerously along the Inchmichael to Balbeggie C-road on July 23.
It is alleged the 73-year-old fell asleep, lost control of his Citreon Berlingo and mounted an embankment, before colliding with the two girls.
He is further accused of failing to stopping to pass on his details after an accident.
It is further alleged Craik, of Mansfield Road, Scone, continued to drive with a smashed windscreen, attempted to overtake a Mercedes Benz driven by Charles Allan, forcing another car driven by Michael McKay, to take evasive action to avoid a collision.
Craik denies all charges.
Lawyers have lodged a special defence of automatism, stating that their client suffered from an episode of vasovagal syncope – a medical condition that can cause fainting – and was unable to maintain control of his vehicle and avoid a collision.
Woke on the roadside
Ms Thomas, now 18, told the trial she had been walking along the quiet road with her friend Ms Sinclair, to catch a bus to Perth.
“When we were walking we noticed a van coming towards us so we stepped up onto the verge to wait for it to go past.”
Ms Thomas said they were about to cross the road when they saw the vehicle.
“We never made it across.
“I noticed the van come up onto the verge and I don’t remember anything after that.”
Ms Thomas – who said she did not see the driver – woke at the side of the road, lying on her front, on top of her arms.
“Ellie was further along the road.
“She was in the bushes, lying on her back.”
Ms Thomas, now a criminology student, tried to flag down passing vehicles.
One drove past but the second car stopped.
Ms Thomas was taken to hospital, suffering from road rash on both arms, some skin loss and bruises. She had no bone injuries.
She was discharged the following day.
Van in rear view mirror
Mr Allan, 70, told the court he was driving home from Dundee when he spotted the girls walking – uninjured – along the side of the road.
He said a few minutes later, he saw a white van in his rear view mirror.
He said: “It was rather fast. It was being driven erratically.”
Mr Allan told fiscal depute Lora Apostolova the van’s windscreen was smashed.
He said the van crossed the central reservation line but did not go past him.
Squealing wheels
Motorist Michael McKay, 50, told the trial he was returning home to Errol after leaving his work at Perth Airport.
He said he saw a small white van “coming really fast the other way” and “had to swerve into a ditch to avoid it”.
Mr McKay said: “I could hear its wheels squealing on the ground it was going so fast and coming into my lane.”
He said the van took no evasive action and drove on.
The trial before Sheriff David Hall continues.
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