Driver Denies Fault for A916 Crash

A PENSIONER accused of killing a man in a head on collision denied she was to blame yesterday at Dundee Sheriff Court.

Adam Maxwell, 28, was killed in the crash on the A916 near Craigrothie on November 13, 2013 when his Vauxhall Nova collided with a Jeep Cherokee. 

Jacqueline Low-Mitchell told a jury that Mr Maxwell had come "hurtling" towards her in the middle of the road.
 
The 83-year-old denied that she had caused the crash that killed Mr Maxwell by overtaking a cyclist as she approached a blind crest on the rural road.

Mrs Low-Mitchell claimed she broke her ankle in the smash - but got back behind the wheel as soon as it was healed.
 
Mrs Low-Mitchell said: "I wasn't able to avoid the collision. There was a loug bang and I came to a crunching halt.
 
"I was worried the car was going to blow up. I tried to open the door but I couldn't - and my foot was stuck, my ankle was broken."

"I just remember this little blue car coming very fast. There's a bit of a hill but he seemed to be going very fast in the middle of the road."
 
Fiscal depute, Vicki Bell, asked her: "The other drivers told us they didn't think it was safe to overtake on that hill, why did you not consider tucking in behind the cyclist and slowing down?"
 
Mrs Low-Mitchell said: "I thought that there was plenty of time and the road was clear."
 
Miss Bell said: "The cyclist thought the person driving the Jeep was an idiot for overtaking her on that hill. She said that was because you couldn't see anything coming the other way."
 
She replied: "I can see where she is coming from. But I don't think I was responsible.
 
"In my opinion I had completed my manouevre and was back on my side of the road."
 
Miss Bell asked: "You spoke about phoning your daughter after the crash. Did you think of phoning the emergency services?"
 
She replied: "No."
 
Crash investigator PC Ian Gemmell earlier told the court that it was his opinion the "primary factor [in the crash] was Mrs Low-Mitchell having executed an overtake on the approach to a blind crest.
 
PC Gemmell said: "The main cause is the position of the vehicle on the opposing lane.
 
"It would appear that the overtake may have been completed in that she has passed the obstruction and was in the process of returning to her own side of the road."
 
Paramedics arrived on the scene 12 minutes after the 999 call was received from the cyclist Mrs Low-Mitchell had overtaken.
 
Mr Maxwell was airlifted to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee where medics found he had a brain injury they thought "unsurvivable".
 
He was placed on life support but was found to be brain dead the following morning and his ventilator was switched off.
 
Witness Sandra Tulloch, 40, earlier said she thought the driver of the Jeep was an "idiot" for overtaking her as she rode her bike near the crest of the hill.
 
Low-Mitchell, of Balcormo Farm, Balcormo, Leven, confirmed to police that she was driving the Jeep Cherokee towing the horsebox at the time of the crash.
 
She denies a charge of causing death by careless driving on indictment.

The trial, before Sheriff Alistair Carmichael and a jury of 11 men and four women, continues.