Scots motorist caged for killing man after mowing him down while on phone call

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A speeding driver who mowed down a man while on a phone call has been jailed for 16 months. John Paul Smith, 42, was behind the wheel of his Mercedes C220 when he hit Christopher Devine as he tried to cross the A82 at Great Western Road near Duntocher, West Dunbartonshire.

The 34 year-old suffered fatal injuries following the horror collision on November 23 2020.Smith - a former accounts manager - was found to have more than 10 times the prescribed limit of a drug called Benzoylecgonine - a "metabolite from cocaine usage" - following a blood test.He today returned to the High Court in Glasgow having earlier pled guilty to a charge of causing death by careless driving.His lawyer had asked for an alternative to prison to be imposed.But, jailing him, Lord Mulholland told Smith he had been driving "much to fast" for the road conditions.The judge: "At the point of the collision you were speeding at 71mph considerably in excess of the limit of 50mph."You were conducting a hands free mobile telephone call, which is not in itself an offence, but is relevant to your reduced attention."All this meant that you drove without maintaining a proper lookout in an area frequented by pedestrians."You did not react in good time to (Mr Devine) and to the risk posed when crossing."Smith - who had previous convictions for careless driving and speeding - was also banned from the road for six years and eight months.Mr Devine had been walking from a friend's house towards the A82 at around 5pm that dark, wet evening.He initially crossed two lanes and narrowly avoided being hit by one vehicle.As he then attempted to continue crossing, he was struck by Smith.Prosecutor Gavin Anderson KC said: "At the time, Smith was engaged in a 'hands free'