American businesswoman thanks jury after not guilty verdict
An American businesswoman broke down in tears and turned towards a jury at Inverness to thank them after they unanimously found her not guilty of causing the death of a Conon Bridge man in a road accident in Inverness last summer.
Barbara Ardell, whose husband and son were sitting in the public benches as the verdict was announced, had denied causing the death of 57 year-old prison officer Paul Todd by careless driving.
The jury took just half-an-hour to return their unanimous verdict to bring the five-day trial to an end.
The 63-year-old business consultant from Dunwoody in Georgia, faced an allegation that she had driven into the path of Mr Todd as she performed a right hand turn off Culcabock Road into Kingsmills Road on the afternoon of August 18 last year causing a collision and as a result the motor cyclist died of his injuries.
Speaking after the verdict before she and her family prepared to fly home to the USA Ardell said: "I want to praise God. The truth has come out and God has answered our prayers."
She said the past 15 months waiting for the trial had been a terrible ordeal and expressed her thanks to friends and family for their support.
But she added her thoughts too were with the family of the motor cyclist.
"I am very sorry for the Todd family. It’s an incredible loss for them and my heart goes out to them."
She thanked the jury for being so attentive to the evidence and Sheriff Jamie Gilchrist for conducting a ‘very fair trial’.
In evidence the court heard how Ardell and her husband were on a three week holiday in the UK and she had driven 500 miles touring Scotland and England.
On the day of the tragedy the couple had been at Culloden, Cawdor Castle and the beach at Nairn and were returning to their guest house in Ardconnell Terrace.
Ardell said during her stay in Inverness she had previously passed through the junction where the accident happened returning to her accommodation.
She signalled going up the hill preparing to make the right hand turn.
"I looked to see if there was anything coming and it was completely clear.
"Just out of my peripheral vision I caught a flash and a bang.
"I turned to my husband and said ‘what in heaven’s name was that?’.
She refuted a suggestion that she may have paused in a carrying out the manoeuvre causing the motor cycle to run into her vehicle.
In the aftermath of the accident, she said in her evidence: "I wake up every morning thinking about this. I go to bed every night thinking about this."
Ardell, who the court was told funded her own defence, said she gave her word to return for her trial. "It’s important to me that I came back."
The jury was told that the 1998 Honda Blackbird motor cycle Mr Todd was riding had a top speed of 180mph and could accelerate from 0-60mph in under four seconds. It was the fastest production model of its kind at the time.
The trial heard from a trained police collision investigator John Hier that initially he thought Ardell wasn’t at fault because she couldn’t have seen the motor cycling coming towards her and her view was obstructed by a bollard and traffic lights.
However, Mr Hier (50) who has now retired, changed his view after seeing a video of the reconstruction using a marked police motorbike and mathematical calculations had been completed regarding the speed and positioning of Mr Todd’s motor cycle and Ardell’s car.
But an expert witness called by the defence said the reconstruction was flawed.
James Allan (52) a retired senior police collision investigator told the jury: "It was not exact. The police motor cyclist was wearing a high viz jacket, a white helmet and had on his headlights. It does not compare to what the biker was wearing or doing on the road.
"The biker was all in black, he had a black helmet and a black bike and he was on the other side of the road."
He also estimated that the speed of the motor bike which slewed along the road into Ardell’s hired Skoda Fabia was higher than that estimated by crash investigators.
Two motorists, Alexander Dickson (66) and nurse midwife Aileen Calder (49) were driving along Culcabock towards the junction at 30mph, which is the speed limit for the road, when Mr Todd overtook them.
In a statement to police Mr Dickson said the motor bike’s speed could have been 50mph.
Questioned by depute fiscal Roderick Urquhart, Mr Dickson was told Ardell said to police he (Mr Dickson) had told them there was ‘nothing that she could do because she had almost completed the turn and this guy came like a bat out of hell’.
Mr Dickson replied: "I can’t remember saying that but given the sequence of events I would agree."
Nineteen year-old Keiran Hardie who had passed his driving test six weeks before was playing on a BMX bike at Walker Park.
He said he heard a loud revving noise then realised it was a motor cycle overtaking a car which he could see through a gap in a hedge.
Seconds later he heard the smash.
He estimated the motor cycle’s speed at between 45mph and 50mph.
