A German tourist who killed his girlfriend in a Highland road crash has completed 300 hours of voluntary work in his homeland and will never drive abroad again, a court has heard.
Gerrit Reickmann, 31, was driving a hired Citroën C3 when he steered onto the wrong side of the A82 near Drumnadrochit on October 12 2020.
The horrific collision with a Honda CRV killed his passenger and then-girlfriend Melina Rosa Päprer, 24, and left the woman driver of the other vehicle severely injured.
The High Court in Inverness heard how Reickmann and Melina had travelled from Germany to see Highland castles in the days before the collision, which took place near Borlum Farm.
The court heard that Reickmann had forgotten that UK motorists drive on the other side of the road compared with Germany.
Reickmann, of Munster, had originally stood trial in Inverness accused of causing Melina’s death by dangerous driving.
But, after two days of evidence, prosecutors accepted his guilty plea to a reduced charge of causing Melina’s death by careless driving and causing the other driver to be severely injured.
Earlier this year, Reickmann, appeared for sentencing at the High Court in Glasgow.
He faced a maximum two-year jail term, however, the judge Lady Drummond said she would instead impose a community payback order as an alternative to custody.
The judge added there were difficulties to that, as Reickmann continued to live in his homeland, where he is now married.
She told him he would have to carry out 300 hours of unpaid voluntary work there – the equivalent term of community service that he would have to perform if he lived in Scotland.
On Tuesday, Reickmann’s case was called again before Lady Drummond, this time at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Death crash driver’s community service
Defence solicitor advocate Jim Stephenson told the court that Reickmann had been volunteering at an animal welfare centre and had worked a total of 300 hours there.
This prompted Lady Drummond to impose a five-year driving ban on Reickmann, which brought the matter to an end.
She said: “The consequences of your offending are very serious – resulting, as it did, in a loss of life and severe injury.
“The tragedy of that loss and the suffering and injury of another person are matters that I take into account, but there are not matters that I can ever restore for those involved.
“I take into account your own remorse and your good driving record. You were able to carry out unpaid work in Germany and you did that.
“I take the view that you have paid back to the community. I make no further order in that regard.”
Up to 20 seconds on the wrong side of the road ended in tragedy
Previously, jurors at his trial watched footage of an injured Reickmann being interviewed by police while in his hospital bed.
He accepted responsibility for the tragedy.
Reickmann said he had hired the Citroën at Edinburgh Airport before the couple travelled north to visit different castles.
It was the first time he had driven in a foreign country after passing his test in 2018.
On the day of the crash, they had left their accommodation near Aberdeen to see Urquhart Castle on the shores of Loch Ness.
They were about to head back when Reickmann decided to turn the car around to visit the Falls of Foyers in the Highlands.
Reickmann forgot motorists drove on the left-hand side in the UK.
It was then that he ended up on the opposite side of the road for what he reckoned was up to 20 seconds before the fatal smash occurred.
He said his girlfriend had initially been checking her phone and then looked up and shouted his name moments before the collision.
‘Unfathomable sadness’
The lawyer for Reickmann had previously described the incident as a “terrible tragedy” and said that Melina’s parents had not blamed him for what happened.
Jim Keegan KC said: “Clearly this has had a devastating effect on a lot of people.”
Sentencing Reickmann, Lady Drummond said he would have to live with what happened for the rest of his life.
She told him: “I have read a victim impact statement from the father of Melina Päprer.
“He describes his unfathomable sadness at the loss of his daughter and the profound impact it has had on her brother too.”
On Tuesday, Mr Stephenson told the court that his client had worked at an animal welfare centre on top of doing his day job.
He also said that Reickmann’s experiences would determine how he behaved in the future.
“Mr Reickmann has no intention of driving abroad ever again,” Mr Stephenson added.
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