Driver jailed for crash that killed his teenage son

Craig Melville was one of three passengers in his father's car

A man who caused the death of his only child when he crashed while driving away from police at speed has been jailed for six years.

Craig Melville, 41, failed to stop for officers after they detected him driving at 137mph on a Highland road.

The former lorry driver lost control of his car and collided with a stone wall.

His 16-year-old son, also called Craig, was killed and a 15-year-old female passenger suffered life-changing injuries in the crash.

A third passenger, a 22-year-old woman, suffered cuts and bruises.

Jailing Melville at the High Court in Glasgow, the judge Lord Fairley said: "While the tragedy is almost unimaginable, you will appreciate that the only sentence that I can appropriately impose is one of imprisonment."

The judge noted Melville had an earlier conviction for speeding in 2020.

Lord Fairley said aggravating factors in the case were the very serious injuries suffered by the teenage girl and that Melville had been trying to out-run a police vehicle.

The judge said: "A substantial mitigating factor is that the person killed was a much-loved family member - your only child.

"That is something which will stay with you for the rest of your life."

Melville, of Alness, was also banned from driving for 13 years.

Defence lawyer Neil Wilson said the tragedy could have ripped Melville's family apart, but that relatives - including his wife - remained entirely supportive of him.

He added: "He knows what happened is because he was driving too fast."

Pool of petrol

Last month, at the High Court in Edinburgh, Melville admitted causing the death of his son and serious injury to the teenage girl by driving dangerously at grossly excessive speeds on the night of 27 March 2021.

The court heard that Melville had offered to take his son, the teenage girl and the woman for a drive after they attended a birthday party in Alness.

He drove out on to the B817 and a section of carriageway known as the Ballachraggan Straight.

Two police officers detected Melville speeding.

The officers signalled for him to stop and he initially slowed as he approached the police car but then accelerated as he passed them before turning on to the B9176 Struie Road.

Police followed Melville on to the B9176 in a bid to catch up with him, but quickly lost sight of him.

As they came around a bend police officers discovered Melville's Audi RS4 had left the road and collided with a wall.

The court was told the crash had caused the car to split into two with the rear section on the wall and the front about 120m (394ft) from the road.

The teenage girl was trapped underneath the rear section of the car and was in a pool of petrol. She was freed by firefighters but had sustained burns, multiple fractures and internal injuries.

Melville's son was found to have suffered multiple severe injuries. He was pronounced dead at the scene.