A young driver behind the wheel of a car which struck and killed a teenage student did not stop and tend to his victim immediately after the fatal crash, a court heard.
Benjamin Land had just been dropped off by a taxi, only yards away from his family home, when he was allegedly knocked down by Christopher Huntington’s Vauxhall Corsa.
Yesterday, Huntington went on trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court accused of causing the death of Mr Land by driving carelessly on the A944 Aberdeen to Westhill road at around 4am on August 10, 2013.
The court heard that, following the initial impact, Huntington continued to drive along the almost deserted dual carriageway, which was undergoing extensive roadworks, before he found somewhere safe to turn back.
But 19-year-old Mr Land had already been found lying motionless on the road by an oncoming motorist.
Mr Land was rushed to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and placed in the hospital’s intensive care unit after the collision.
However, he could not survive the serious brain and head injuries he had sustained as a result of the impact.
It is alleged that Huntington, 21, who was accompanied in the car by two of his friends, was not paying attention to the road ahead of him when the collision occurred.
Prosecutors claim that he failed to react to Mr Land, who had been under the influence of alcohol, as he attempted to cross the unlit road.
Huntington, of 13 Westfield Gardens, Westhill, is also facing a further charge which alleges he drove dangerously on the same road just one year after the fatal crash.
He denies both charges against him.
Christopher Riddell and Thomas Poppleton, who were in the car with Huntington at the time of the crash, gave evidence yesterday.
The pair said they had spent the evening before the crash just “hanging out” in Huntington’s car.
Both witnesses said they did not think he was tired at the time of the accident.
Both men also said they had been unaware of Mr Land crossing the road until something smashed on the windscreen.
Mr Poppleton originally thought the car had hit a traffic cone, however Huntington said “in a panic” that they had “just hit someone”.
The court heard that, after the impact, Huntington did not know where to stop given the restricted layout of the road.
Mr Poppleton said he continued to drive down the dual carriageway where he found a gap in the central reservation to turn around and return to the scene of the crash.
The trial, before Sheriff Annella Cowan, continues.