Youngster killed on road after driver was distracted by phone call from wife

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A driver has admitted killing a young motorbike passenger after being distracted by a phone call from his wife.Gavin Aitken, 49, was behind the wheel of a company car when he ploughed into a motorbike on which Liam Scott was riding pillion.The 21 year-old Irvine youngster - who had been set to join the army - never survived having suffered a fatal head injury.Aitken, employed as a bus driver, today admitted to a charge of causing death by dangerous driving as he appeared in the dock at the High Court in Glasgow.The first offender was remanded in custody pending sentencing next month.The crash occurred on the A82 near Auchenheglish Lodges in Balloch, West Dunbartonshire on August 31, 2020.Aitken was a driver for Garelochhead Coaches at the time.He finished his shift that afternoon and took a company Volkswagen Golf to get back to the firm's depot.Aitken stopped en-route to meet his wife and she then followed in her Vauxhall Corsa.Liam was meantime a passenger on a Suzuki bike driven by his 23 year-old friend Stewart McKenzie.The pair had been travelling to Loch Lomond at the time.Aitken, of Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire, ended up directly behind the bike on the A82.Prosecutor Louise Beattie then told the court: "At 5.11pm, Aitken received an incoming phone call from his wife."It forwarded to voicemail.

Aitken accepts that he was distracted by the phone call."This was an avoidable distraction which caused him to take his eyes off the road."He became involved with the phone in the crucial seconds leading up to the approach to the junction."It resulted in Aitken's car hitting the rear wheel of the Suzuki as the bike had slowed to turn right.Liam was hurtled backwards and then smacked into the windscreen of the Volkswagen.