The family of a former NHS Highland chairwoman, Caroline Thomson, spoke of “a bitter injustice” after a jury’s unanimous not guilty verdict on the man accused of causing the collision which killed her.
It took jurors just half-an-hour to acquit 34-year-old Coventry man Sean Yorke of driving carelessly when he swerved to avoid a deer on the A835 road near Maryburgh on August 16, 2016.
They had just heard defence counsel David Moggach describe the death as “an unfortunate, dreadfully tragic accident”.
But a statement released at Inverness Sheriff Court by the Thomson family afterwards said: “We are obviously devastated by the outcome of the trial. Sean Yorke’s actions on the 16th August 2016 took Caroline from us and brought misery upon her family and friends.”
Mr Moggach told the jury his client had reacted “instinctively” when confronted with a brown roe deer in the middle of the carriageway he was on.
The lawyer added: “He instinctively swerved to the right. With hindsight, it was the wrong thing to do.” adding that it was a “split second decision.”
The trial before Sheriff Eilidh Macdonald heard from two motorists that a deer was on or near the road at the time.
The jury was also told that a distressed and shocked Mr Yorke immediately told police at the scene: “All because of a bloody deer.”
Mr Moggach added that although Mr Yorke and another motorist had seen the deer, Mrs Thomson’s 68-year-old husband, Alan had not and admitted he was unsure on what evasive action to take.
The trial heard Mr Thomson swung his car to the right but it was too late to avoid a collision.
Mr Yorke’s Toyota smashed into the Audi 8 about 10.30pm on a clear, moonlit straight stretch of road.
The Audi rotated 180 degrees and stopped in the middle of the road facing the way it had come from the West.
Mr Yorke’s Toyota ended up down an embankment in a field.
Retired company director Mr Thomson suffered multiple fractures but 63-year-old Mrs Thomson died at the scene.
Mr Thomson, the founder of Wavegen, a maritime energy pioneer, told the two day trial he saw no animal on the road and at the time thought he had been struck by a drunk driver or foreign tourist.
But Mr Yorke was neither, and a police investigation showed he wasn’t using his mobile phone at the time.
The family, in their statement, said afterwards: “If Sean Yorke had not driven headlong into oncoming traffic that night, Caroline would still be here with us. Instead it is Sean who walks free from court today, owing my father his life for, if he had not taken evasive action, all three would certainly have been killed.
“We believe today’s result is a bitter injustice and we are considering onward legal action.”
Mr Yorke refused to comment after the verdict.