Edinbugh lawyer cleared of causing three deaths in A9 horror smash
The family of a German doctor killed in a head on crash on the A9 near Newtonmore claim that justice has not been served after a solicitor was cleared of causing three deaths in a horrific accident.
But Edinburgh lawyer Andrew Houston was found guilty of careless driving as a result of his actions which led to the crash on July 9, 2013.
Jurors heard in harrowing evidence over the four-day trial in Inverness how Houston’s wife Abigail and seven-year-old daughter Mia died in the smash along with Mohammed Hayajneh (62).
Houston was fined £1000 and disqualified from driving for one year. The maximum penalty for such an offence is £5000 and a driving ban.
Mrs Hayajneh and her son Jonas spoke briefly after the verdict.
On behalf of the family, Jonas said: "We are shocked at this verdict and believe that justice has not been done for our father and husband.
"We don’t feel hatred towards Mr Houston and at no point did we want him to go to prison.
"But we wanted him to be found guilty since all the evidence suggested he was and we are convinced that this tragedy could have been avoided.
"We now face the prospect of never gaining proper closure.
"The jury concluded that Mr Houston was on the wrong side of the road due to careless driving but didn’t cause the accident because of careless driving since he unsuccessfully tried to get back on the proper side of the road in the last moment.
"This verdict is irrational and illogical."
Mrs Hayajneh said she wished to thank the Scottish people, the police and medical staff at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness for the kindness shown to her after the tragedy.
She said that despite what had happened she had told her friends that Scotland was a place they must visit because of its wonderful people.
The jury cleared Houston, (48), of causing death by careless driving but found him found guilty of careless driving after two hours of deliberations.
They had heard that police investigations ruled out the use of a mobile phone, mechanical failure, alcohol and speed as being contributing factors to the crash.
But an expert witness for the defence told them yesterday that a displaced coil spring on the rear suspension of Houston’s Audi was a possible cause of the accident.
Forensic collision investigator Mark Littler (55) travelled to Ross’s Garage in Kincraig on March 11 last year to inspect the wreckage of the Audi. He had examined the locus of the accident the previous day.
Mr Littler, who spent 25 years with Greater Manchester Police, said in his report that no witnesses were able to explain how the Audi had crossed the road, nor was there any physical evidence to explain why it had crossed the carriageway.
But on inspection of the vehicle, he said he had found a cross spring on the rear suspension was displaced.
"The upper and lower seal cups and spring guards were missing," he said.
He said the coil spring was jammed between the bodywork and exhaust pipe and that he had found the part that kept it in place lying in the back of the car along with other debris.
Mr Littler ruled out the spring being displaced when the wrecked car was being lifted by a crane onto the back of a lorry after the crash.
Defence QC Frances McMenamin said this led to the conclusion that the coil was displaced either during the collision as a result of the crash or on the journey before the accident.
Mr Littler said that he could not rule out that the part was displaced in the impact from the collision.
However, he continued: "In all my years of experience I have never seen a displaced coil as a result of an accident. But I could not rule that out."
He said that it was certainly plausible that it happened during the accident.
He added that if the coil had been displaced on the journey prior to the collision he could not believe that Houston or his family would not have noticed the failure of the rear suspension.
Mr Littler said that after investigation of the accident scene he concluded that Houston would have had only between 1.7 seconds and 3.5 seconds to react to have avoided the crash.
Houston chose not to give evidence at his trial.
The jury had earlier watched a video recording of him being interviewed by police at Perth Police Station on December 15 that year.
He broke down in tears as it was replayed in court on Tuesday.
In the interview, Houston told officers how a case he had been involved with at Dornoch Sheriff Court had been resolved and he left for Inverness between 12.30pm and 1pm and picked up his family in Inverness.
He said there had been no arguments in the car and no-one had been getting upset.
"They had a lovely day – a super day," he said.
His wife and two daughters, Mia and nine-year-old Lily, enjoyed a dolphin trip in Inverness before meeting up later at the Eastgate Shopping Centre in the city with Houston.
Then the family travelled south, stopping off at Aviemore for fish and chips before continuing their journey south.
Asked about the accident, Houston said he could just remember an almighty bang and he had a vision of himself steering to the left.
He was unable to describe what happened. "I can’t remember any specifics because it was so unremarkable – an unremarkable journey, I mean."
After the collision, he said he held his wife Abbie’s hand.
"She seemed to have a bump on her head and I was holding her hand but she was conscious and I was telling her it would be okay.
"I could see little Mia and she didn’t seem to be injured."
But then he remembered someone trying to give his younger daughter CPR.
Houston suffered cracked ribs and a broken foot in the crash and spent several days at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness before being transferred to the Sick Children’s Hospital in Edinburgh to be with his other daughter Lily, who survived the crash.
