A speeding drink driver who caused the death of two passengers before fleeing the scene has been jailed for eight years.
Head gamekeeper Jonathan Graham, know as Jonny, was thrown from the car when it left the road near the shoreline of a sea loch in the Ormsary area of Argyll.
The 37-year-old and fellow passenger Jasmine Herron, 19, were both killed in the tragedy in January 2020.
Jordan Lawrence, 25, had been drinking at a party for the end of the shooting season at Ormsary Estate, near Lochgilphead, when he lost control of the vehicle near the single track B8024.
A judge told Lawrence at the High Court in Edinburgh that he had read of the “terrible consequences” for the families of teenager Ms Herron and Mr Graham.
Lord Beckett said: “There is no sentence that I can pass which matches the value of the two lives that have been lost.”
Lost control of speeding car
The judge told Lawrence: “It is necessary to punish you and to seek to deter you and others from driving in such a dangerous manner.”
Lawrence had earlier denied causing the deaths by dangerous driving, but was found guilty after a trial.
He drove while unfit due to the consumption of alcohol, at excessive speed and failed to maintain observations. He lost control of the car which left the road and collided with a boulder.
The vehicle was propelled through the air onto the shoreline at Loch Caolisport and his passengers were thrown out of the car and died.
Lawrence, who was traced later by police, was also convicted of failing to report the fatal incident.
Lord Beckett said it was a “deeply tragic event” which had a huge impact on a small community.
Hid away to avoid detection
The court heard that Lawrence had been drinking at a party held following a pheasant shoot before getting behind the wheel of the car to drive along the single track road in the dark.
He arrived at the party with a pack of Stella Artois and consumed whisky, gin and vodka during the evening, jurors heard.
As he left with Miss Herron and father-of-three Mr Graham, who was the head gamekeeper at the Ormsary Estate, he appeared to witnesses to be driving fast. One said: “It just zoomed past.”
Advocate depute Graeme Jessop said the evidence pointed to Lawrence driving too fast while he was impaired by alcohol and losing control of the vehicle at a point in the road where there was no obvious hazard.
The prosecutor said: “He made off from the scene and holed up in his house. Why? Is one obvious explanation that he was trying to avoid detection by the authorities until such time as he sobered up.”
Mr Jessop said: “He went home and lay low until the police found him.”
‘Devastating’ loss
In a statement issued through Digby Brown Solicitors, Mr Graham’s wife Anna, 34, paid tribute to her husband.
“The loss of Jonny has been truly devastating for all of us,” she said.
“He was a loving husband and father and we feel his absence every day.
“In all honesty, the outcome of the trial has no real bearing on our lives as no legal outcome will ever replace Jonny or address the pain and loss we’ve suffered.”
Gamekeeper James Reid, 40, told the court that an end of season pheasant shoot had been organised for that weekend, known as ‘keepers’ day’. he said: “It is mainly for people who have helped on shoots throughout the year.”
He said it was “a bit of a social get together’ to celebrate the end of the year and the work that had gone on.
He said he and Mr Graham, who lived at the gamekeeper’s cottage with his wife and boys, were running the event and Lawrence, who worked at the estate at the time, came to the after shoot party at a village hall.
The following morning Mr Reid returned to the hall to make sure everything was in order and it was secured. He was returning home when he saw a car on the shore off the B8024 and recognised it as Lawrence’s vehicle.
He said: “It was well down the beach, facing out to sea.” He added that the car was “a wreck”. He then realised that Mr Graham was lying on his back dead.
He returned home and emergency services were contacted and then returned to the shoreline with his partner Lisa McShane, who realised that Miss Herron was also dead.
She said she was concerned because she could not see Lawrence and added: “I knew they were together and I thought he could possibly be lying dead somewhere as well.” Police later informed them that Lawrence had been found.
Road ban
Defence counsel Lynsey Morgan said that Lawrence accepted that a custodial sentence was inevitable, although he maintained that there was no wrongdoing on his part which caused the crash.
Lord Beckett said he recognised that Lawrence has expressed regret and recognised the consequences and impact of the deaths, but added that there was no acceptance of responsibility in a background report prepared on him.
The defence counsel said that Lawrence was aged 22 at the time of the offences and asked the court to take into account sentencing guidelines on young people in dealing with him.
Lord Beckett told Lawrence: “It seems you have been driving since you were 17. It hardly needed maturity to realise driving as you did was dangerous for your passengers.”
First offender Lawrence, a digger operator, formerly of Low Bowhill Farm, Newmilns, in Ayrshire, was banned from driving for 12 years.
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