A Mearns woman whose husband was killed in a road smash has asked for an appeal of the “pathetic” four-year sentence given to the drink-driver behind the wheel.
On Wednesday Julie Taylor broke down in tears when she saw Dundee businessman Russell McKeever sentenced for killing her husband, Colin.
The 42-year-old’s Audi A6 hit the newlywed couple’s Citroen Picasso near Arbroath on October 31 2014. McKeever was nearly three times the former drink-drive limit four hours later.
Mr Taylor was killed outright while his wife whom he had recently wed after 30 years together had broken bones in every limb and was trapped in the wreckage with his body for 30 minutes.
Mrs Taylor said McKeever visibly “perked up” when he was sentenced for death by dangerous driving. She posted on Facebook: “Four years the lousy, inadequate and insulting sentence given to the man who killed my husband and ruined my and my family’s life.
“I’m disgusted and disillusioned that someone who took a life so deliberately could be let off so lightly.”
At the High Court in Livingston, Judge Lord Armstrong reduced the length of the sentence because of McKeever’s early admission of guilt.
Of a potential appeal, a Crown Office spokesman said: “As with all cases, we will consider the sentence and give consideration to whether it might be unduly lenient.”
Mrs Taylor, from Stonehaven, said: “It’s just the reality of it hitting you four years and Colin’s never coming back.
“I can’t believe he’s getting away so lightly. It wouldn’t be so bad if he was actually going to serve four years.”
Mr Taylor, 59, died instantly from “massive, unsurvivable injuries”. Mrs Taylor, 50, needed more than 12 hours of surgery.
Lord Armstrong told father-of-three McKeever he recognised from testimonial letters he was a respected member of the local community and was assessed as at low risk of re-offending.
The court had earlier heard McKeever had been at a pub in Broughty Ferry for lunch with his ex-wife and her friend. He had one glass of wine but went back to the friend’s home after stopping at a supermarket to buy more alcohol. By the time he left there, abruptly and without any explanation, McKeever was drunk.
Four hours after the crash, McKeever gave an alcohol reading of 226mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood, the limit at the time being 80mg.