A motorcyclist died after a car pulled out of a junction and into the path of his machine on the A9 Inverness-Thurso road, Inverness Sheriff Court heard yesterday.
Driver William Couston, 47, of Eadan, Sunderland Place, Alness, admitted causing the death of former Orkney harbours director Nigel Mills and seriously injuring his wife Patricia by careless driving at the junction to the Alness Business Park on May 6 last year.
Mr and Mrs Mills, who lived at Tankerness, had been heading to visit friends in Aberdeen before going on to the Scottish Motorcycle Show at Ingliston.
The couple had set off from their Orkney home earlier than planned in order to dodge bad weather.
However, less than two hours after getting off the ferry from St Margaret’s Hope to Gills Bay, Mr Mills and his wife were knocked off their bike when Couston emerged from the junction.
He had not been drinking and was heading for a gym in Invergordon, fiscal depute Roderick Urquhart told Sheriff Margaret Neilson.
He added: “Both Mr and Mrs Mills were thrown off their bike and on to the carriageway. The first witness on the scene said Couston’s car was in the middle of the road, its right indicator still flashing.
“Ambulance and police were called and Couston identified himself to officers as being the driver. There appeared to be no signs of life in Mr Mills.
“Mrs Mills suffered a right leg fracture, a compound fracture to the left, a crushed pelvis, a fractured vertebra and a perforated bladder. She is still using crutches and a wheelchair and was in hospital in Aberdeen for three months after the accident.”
Sentence was deferred for a background report until June 2 and bail was continued.
Mr Mills, 55, was riding his 1,000cc Kawasaki KLZ with his wife on the pillion when the crash happened on the Thurso-Inverness stretch of the notorious road.
Friends said the former ship’s captain was a “dedicated, loyal and hard-working” father-of-three, who had taken up motorcycling about a year previously after retiring.
At the time of the accident, Mrs Mills looked after elderly people in Orkney.
Former colleague Michael Morrison, business development manager for Orkney harbours, said at the time that friends had been “devastated” by Mr Mills’ tragic death.
He added: “He was well known in the islands through his high-profile job as director of harbours and everyone was shocked to hear of his death.”