Teenager caused fatal crash three weeks after passing test

Calum Anderson was given a community sentence at Stirling Sheriff Court

A teenage motorist who caused the death of a 57-year-old man by driving on the wrong side of the road had only passed his test three weeks earlier, a court has heard.

Calum Anderson lost control of his works van and drifted into the path of a car driven by George Mitchell, who was on his way to collect his daughter from school.

The collision happened on the A977 between Gartarry Roundabout in Alloa and Forest Mill in Clackmannanshire in December 2023.

Anderson, 19, was sentenced to 300 hours of unpaid work, a 12-month curfew, social work supervision for two years, and disqualified from driving for 50 months at Stirling Sheriff Court.

Anderson, from Motherwell in North Lanarkshire, previously admitted causing Mr Mitchell's death by careless driving.

The court was told an "unknown event" had resulted in Anderson suffering "a transient but complete loss of control of his vehicle, which set in train the terrible accident".

A driver who had followed Anderson's van for two miles before the cash reported it was being driven completely normally before it "just drifted out across the centre of the road and into the other side".

Prosecutor Paula Wedlock said Mr Mitchell, from Airth near Falkirk, would have had insufficient time to react.

"There were no obvious hazards obstructing the accused's view, such as overhanging branches or hidden dips," he said.

"The headlights of oncoming vehicles would have provided an indication of the straight path of the road."

Barry Smith KC, defending, said: "Calum Anderson understands very well nothing I can say on his behalf can undo the harm caused in this unspeakably tragic accident.

"He is genuinely and profoundly remorseful."

Members of Mr Mitchell's family wept on the public benches as Sheriff Keith O'Mahony described it as "a tragic case by any standard".

Sheriff O'Mahony said the family statements described Mr Mitchell as "a kind, devoted and hard-working man who "loved his family more than anything in the world".

The sheriff said that prior to the accident, Anderson's driving had not caused any other road users concern and there had been "no evidence of any foolhardy attempt to overtake".

He warned Anderson that the sentence he imposed was a direct alternative to custody.