A hit and run biker who made off after knocking down and injuring a schoolgirl has been found guilty of careless driving by a jury.
The jury were then told that Scott Cooper had already admitted failing to stop, driving off after an accident, and having no insurance at the time.
Witnesses described how they saw Scott Cooper, 29, overtaking a line of cars and driving on the wrong side of the road when he knocked over the 10-year-old girl.
Mercedes market area director Paul Marwick said he saw the motorbike strike the girl after pulling out to overtake a number of vehicles in a town centre.
Mr Marwick, 45, told Perth Sheriff Court the biker simply drove off and overtook more vehicles as he left the girl lying injured in the road.
He said: “A bike pulled out from between some of the cars. There were two young girls on the road. It hit one of the girls who landed on the road and it kept on moving forward.
“There was a line of five or six vehicles. He pulled out across the road, which suggests it was accelerating. After he hit the girl he continued up the road.
“The bike was moving out of sight, over the top of the hill. I was focused on the girls, but the bike continued to overtake.”
The jury was told Mr Marwick and other car drivers stopped to attend to the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
Cooper, of Linden Avenue, Newport-on-Tay, denied causing serious injury by driving dangerously on the A922 in South Street, Milnathort, on 31 August 2017. The jury found him guilty of the lesser charge of careless driving.
He had admitted the other charges prior to the trial starting.
The girl, now 11, told the trial she had been left with muscle damage which had forced her to give up some of her sporting activities.
She said: “I was told it hit my thigh, that’s how I got muscle damage. I only remember lying on the ground, that is it. Everyone came rushing towards me, and all the cars stopped.
“I felt pain in my hand and my shoulder and my thigh. I had a sling on for four or five weeks. It gets sore when it’s cold. I broke three fingers.”
She said she had to quite one of the sports teams she had played for because she got extremely tired and often felt a “tingly feeling” in her leg.
Another driver, Helv Blair, told the jury: “We were all going under the speed limit. It was overtaking so it must have been doing above 30.
“The engine was roaring. I was aware of the noise of the motorbike. I could just sense that they were going to collide. The motorbike driver swerved to try and avoid her at the last minute.
“From memory he swerved to the left and then to the right. He kind of wobbled.”
Sheriff Gillian Wade deferred sentence for the preparation of reports.
