Drug-driver killed Edinburgh nurse cycling to work at hospital

Douglas Toshack was more than two times over the legal limit for driving with cannabis

A drug-driver has been found guilty of killing a nurse who was cycling to work at the intensive care unit of Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

Douglas Toshack was more than two times over the legal limit for driving with cannabis when he hit James Harrison with his truck in June 2020.

He said he had not seen the 36-year-old research nurse, who was volunteering in intensive care during the pandemic.

Mr Harrison died later that day at the hospital where he worked.

Police later discovered 51-year-old Toshack had 5.1 micorgrammes of cannabis per litre of blood - the legal limit is two microgrammes.

Toshack, of Kelty in Fife, had originally been charged with causing Mr Harrison's death by dangerous driving but jurors found him guilty of an alternative charge of causing death by driving without 'due care and attention'.

They also found him guilty of driving whilst over the legal limit for cannabis.

Mr Harrison was also an official for Scottish Athletics and an athlete and team manager at Corstorphine AAC

The jury heard how Toshack failed to pay attention at the junction of the A772 Gilmerton Road with Kingston Avenue and Mount Vernon Road.

Mr Harrison was in the opposite lane and was heard to shout 'whoa whoa whoa' moments before Toshack turned right.

His flatbed Mercedes Sprinter truck struck Mr Harrison and then drove over him.

Following the jury's verdict, prosecutor David Dickson submitted a victim impact statement to the court from Mr Harrison's wife and two children. The document detailed the impact that Mr Harrison's death has had on his loved ones.

The father-of-two had been a lead research nurse in cardiology and had volunteered in the intensive care unit to support the Covid-19 response.

He was also an official for Scottish Athletics and an athlete and team manager at Corstorphine AAC.

The collision happened at the junction of Mount Vernon Road with Gilmerton Road and Kingston Avenue

Giving evidence during the trial, Toshack admitted to smoking cannabis the night before the collision. He said he was a father of two who had been taking the drug for the past 30 years.

He said he hadn't seen Mr Harrison in the moments leading up to the incident and was "completely bewildered" afterwards.

"I got out to see what had happened," he said.

"I saw a cyclist lying on the road. I was in a bit of shock. I phoned an ambulance straight away."

Judge Lord Sandison deferred sentence for the court to obtain a report about Toshack's background and refused a request from defence solicitor advocate Jim Keegan KC to continue his client's bail.

He warned Toshack that he was likely to give him a prison sentence.