A grieving Aberdeenshire family broke down in tears as a jury convicted the deadly “boy racer” who killed a teenager in a horrific car crash on the A90.
Jake Summers, 21, drove at excessive speed without due care and attention – losing control of his red Ford Fiesta and ploughing into trees at the side of the carriageway.
His 19-year-old friend Dylan Irvine suffered horrendous fatal injuries and was thrown from the mangled vehicle that landed in a field near St Fergus around 9.30pm on October 4 2020.
Summers, who’d managed to crawl for 19 metres, had to wait 10 hours overnight for help to arrive, once someone finally noticed the wreck and called emergency services.
Dylan Irvine’s mum speaks out about the Peterhead teen’s death
It took jurors just one and a half hours to find Summers guilty by majority verdict, with his victim’s mum describing her son’s killer as a “boy racer”.
Amanda Irvine also said she felt heartbroken with grief.
“Dylan’s absence has created a void in our family that simply cannot, and will not ever, be filled,” she said, adding: “It breaks my heart that I have to remember the laugh and cuddle of my son, instead of hear and feel them”.
Ms Irvine’s heartfelt words came in an emotional statement released by Digby Brown Solicitors on her behalf.
During the three-day-long trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, a jury heard evidence from collision investigator Police Constable Calum Jamieson.
The witness explained a report into the collision, which assessed Summers’ speed to be 91mph before the deadly smash.
Referring to the investigation report, PC Jamieson said it was likely the car hit one tree at high speed, then struck another – causing the Fiesta to spin 360 degrees – before landing in an Aberdeenshire field, eight meters from the carriageway.
A90 crash death trial hears of Dylan Irvine’s last-ever social media messages
The prosecutor – fiscal depute John Adams – asked the expert to elaborate on how, in his opinion, it happened.
“It’s the violence of the rotation,” PC Jamieson answered, adding: “It was a very, very violent impact.”
Friends of the two men also gave evidence about Snapchat messages they received from Dylan Irvine only moments before the crash along the Peterhead to Fraserburgh stretch of road.
One witness, Ally McBride, 22, described a video message from Mr Irvine – sent just before his tragic end – showing both men in Summers’ car with the caption “two lads just vibing”.
Other drivers, who travelled along the same route that night, also gave evidence, describing the road surface as “wet” and “drizzly”.
Peterhead teen Dylan Irvine ‘would still be here’ if Jake Summers had lowered speed
Sarah Ritchie, a police sergeant, also noticed extensive damage to the front and “blood and brain matter” within the vehicle.
As the prosecutor delivered his final speech to the jury before their deliberations, Mr Adams repeatedly highlighted that the damage was caused Jake Summers’ “excessive speed”.
He also concluded that, if Summers had lowered his speed to match the road conditions, then “Dylan Irvine would still be here”.
Defence counsel David Moggach described Mr Irvine’s death as a “tragic loss of life” in which “no one can help but feel sadness and sorrow for his family”.
Mr Moggach then reminded the jury that they would “probably make one of the most important decisions in Jake Summers’ life”.
However, they found his client guilty.
Upon hearing the majority verdict, Sheriff Morag McLaughlin deferred sentencing Summers until next month.
A criminal justice social work report and a restriction of liberty order assessment will be carried out before then.
She also disqualified Summers, of Harbour Street, Peterhead, from driving in the meantime while granting him bail.
READ MORE: Dylan Irvine’s family urges convicted Jake Summers to be ‘more than just the boy racer who killed his friend’
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