Murder trial witness saw van 'buried' in bus after head-on crash

Bus driver Gordon Stirling, 23, died from his injuries

A man has told a murder trial how he saw a van "buried" in a bus following a head-on crash.

Gordon Stirling was critically injured after the Stagecoach single-decker he was driving was struck by a Ford Transit, driven by David Livingstone.

Mr Livingstone, who is accused of murder or alternatively causing Mr Stirling's death by dangerous driving, denies the charges.

He is also alleged to have injured two further passengers following the collision on the A77 near Fenwick, Ayrshire, on 14 August 2023.

It is claimed Mr Livingstone intentionally went onto the opposite side of the road towards the bus and caused a crash.

Mr Stirling, 23, from Crosshouse, Ayrshire, was so severely injured that he died.

On the opening day of the trial, Shane O'Shea, 42, told the court he came across the wreckage of the bus and the van, which was on the wrong side of the road.

He told the jury: "The van was in front of the bus. It was buried into the front of it."

The witness said he saw the driver of the van in the driver's seat and he was conscious at the time.

He added that the driver was "moaning and injured".

Mr O'Shea told the court he went on to board the bus and recalled that the driver, Mr Stirling, was lying conscious on the bus.

Mr O'Shea said: "The van engine, the front of the van, was where the driver would be."

The witness told jurors that Mr Stirling had a number of injuries and was bleeding "everywhere".

Mr O'Shea added: "His wrist was snapped, his legs were mangled and the back and ankle and knee.

"He was in a bad way - his bottom teeth were gone."

Witness describes A77 crash scene 'carnage'

The witness said he was joined at the scene by first aider Graeme Clark, who spoke to Mr Stirling's father on the phone to tell him what had happened.

Prosecutor Mark Mohammed KC asked Mr O'Shea how he would describe the scene.

He replied: "Carnage."

Ian Duguid KC, defending, asked if the van was on the wrong side of the road but "heading for the correct side of the road?"

Mr O'Shea replied: "Yes."

Mr Clark, 37, told the court he saw the incident take place.

The HGV driver described Mr Stirling as being in a "serious condition" and added that he was surprised that he was still conscious.

He also said the scene was "definitely traumatic."

Another witness Robert Kirkwood, 54, told jurors "there was a halo of fuel and debris around the vehicles" after the collision took place.

Mr Kirkwood said that the van was not driving "out of the ordinary" and was going at a "normal speed."

The trial, before Judge Lord Mulholland, continues.