An American tourist wept and shouted “Praise the Lord” as she was cleared of killing a Highland motorcyclist.
Atlanta business consultant Barbara Ardell also sent her deepest sympathy to the family of the dead man after a jury at Inverness Sheriff Court delivered a unanimous not guilty verdict following a five-day trial this week.
The 63-year-old had denied causing the death of prison officer Paul Todd by driving carelessly into the path of his motorbike on July 18 last year.
Jurors took just 30 minutes to find her not guilty after hearing conflicting opinions from police about the accident.
On hearing the outcome, Sheriff Jamie Gilchrist QC told them: “It does not surprise me that you took so little time to reach your verdict.”
After composing herself, Ardell, who was accompanied by her husband and son throughout the case, described the agonising 17-month wait to prove her innocence.
She said: “I want to thank God and my family and friends for the comfort and support I have received during this long and difficult ordeal.
“But I also want to express my deepest sympathy for the family of Mr Todd who have suffered a terrible loss.
“I have always believed in my innocence and was determined to return from my home in Georgia to prove it. It has been very costly but worth it. The truth has come out at last.
“I also want to thank the jury for being so attentive throughout this sometimes complicated case.
“It has been very tough for all of us and we will go home a very relieved family. Certainly the journey back will be less stressful than the one coming over.”
Mr Todd’s family could not be contacted last night.
The motorcyclist from Alcaig, near Conon Bridge in Ross-shire, died from serious chest injuries after slamming into the front wheel of the Skoda.
Eye-witnesses told the trial he had been going “like a bat out of hell” and “well in excess of the speed limit” when he passed their vehicles in nearby Damfield Road.
However, the court heard a police reconstruction of the fatal crash was “seriously flawed”.
Former Central Scotland Police inspector James Allan, a collision expert, said a report compiled by his former colleagues from Inverness was inaccurate.
The 52-year-old, who is now an independent traffic consultant, said it was not a true representation of what happened when Mr Todd’s collided with Ardell’s hired Skoda Fabia on Inverness’s Culcabock Road.
Evidence was led which suggested Mr Todd may have been going at speeds of up to 50mph.
Mr Allan told defence counsel Mark Moir: “The police reconstruction using an officer on a police bike with its headlight illuminated, wearing a high-viz jacket and white helmet was not an accurate reconstruction. It was seriously flawed.
“Mr Todd was in an all black outfit, on a black bike and wearing a black helmet, so he would not have easily been seen.
“The camera was also in a higher position than Mrs Ardell’s would have been sitting in her car, therefore the view is better.
“This was not a true and accurate reconstruction of the accident.”