Speeding driver jailed over fatal head-on crash near Barrhead

The crash happened on the A736 Glasgow Road near Barrhead

A speeding motorist who killed a taxi driver in a head-on crash has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years.

Scott Gilligan, 35, had no insurance when he got behind the wheel of a Vauxhall Insignia on 14 June 2021.

He crashed into Edward Cullen's cab after going on to the wrong side of the A736 Glasgow Road near Barrhead in Renfrewshire.

Mr Cullen, 55, who had returned to work after recovering from a heart attack, died in hospital three months later.

Pedestrian Margaret Mansell, 60, was propelled through a hedge and into a field after being struck by Mr Cullen's car during the crash.

She suffered fractures and a collapsed lung as well as spleen and kidney injuries which needed "significant treatment".

Driving ban

Gilligan, of Paisley, was found to have been driving at 69mph in a 40mph zone and had been seen trying to overtake a small van before the fatal crash.

He was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow having pleaded guilty last month to causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving.

Judge Lady Stacey told him he had been witnessed driving "at speed, aggressively and erratically" ahead of the crash.

The judge added: "Mr Cullen lost his life - there is nothing I can say or do which will take away the grief his family has felt and will continue to feel."

Lady Stacey added Ms Mansell had also "been left feeling not the woman she once was".

Gilligan - who had previous road traffic convictions - was also banned from driving for a total of nine years and nine months.