A woman has been cleared of causing the death of a north-east pensioner by driving carelessly along an Aberdeenshire road.
Mandy Strachan had been facing an allegation that she killed 83-year-old Peter Wales when she crashed into his car on the B9002 Huntly to Alford road on December 12, 2013.
But yesterday the Crown accepted that it could not be proved that Mr Wales died as a direct result of the injuries he suffered in the accident.
Instead prosecutors accepted Strachan’s guilty plea to a lesser charge of careless driving when she appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.
She was also allowed to hold onto her licence after her solicitor told the sheriff her mistake had been at the “lower end of the scale”.
The court heard Strachan had been approaching the T-junction near Gartly when she noticed Mr Wales’ car moving slowly and indicating to turn left.
Fiscal depute Andrew Hanton said a number of other motorists also observed the pensioner signalling and presumed he was going to turn at the junction.
However when Strachan pulled out onto the road, her Silver Ford Galaxy collided with Mr Wales’ car.
It is understood that the OAP’s vehicle caught fire as a result of the impact.
Mr Wales, from Rhynie, died at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary on December 20 – more than a week after the crash.
Strachan was also injured and was taken to the Jubilee Hospital in Huntly to be treated, however her condition was not considered to be serious.
Yesterday the court heard Strachan, 32, was a married mum of two, who had been on her way into town at the time of the incident.
Representing the hairdresser, solicitor Mark Donaldson said the matter had been of “considerable concern” to her.
He asked Sheriff Alison Stirling to allow her to keep her licence as he said the carelessness involved in her driving that day was at the “lower end of the scale”.
The sheriff fined Strachan, of 14 Mansfield Cottages, Kennethmont, Huntly, £750 and put eight penalty points on her licence.