A Danish man has been found guilty of causing a crash that killed a minibus driver and injured 10 others.
Stefan Hansen was yesterday ordered to surrender his passport after being convicted of causing Andrew Rennie’s death by driving carelessly in Argyll.
The 24-year-old drove on the wrong side of the A83, near the Kennacraig ferry terminal at Tarbert, and his 4×4 collided head-on with the minibus on October 17, 2013.
Mr Rennie, 62, of Campbeltown, was trapped, but collapsed after he was eventually freed. He suffered leg, chest and abdomen injuries, and died.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard that Hansen had previously been in Scotland in 2011 for work experience and had driven regularly.
He had returned in 2013 with his father and a friend to go on a hunting trip, and on the morning of the crash had set off alone.
But he told the jury that as he tried to change the radio channel, he took his eyes off the road and veered on to the wrong carriageway.
He said: “I just saw these two lights coming towards me and that’s it. There is no time at all to react, just maybe hitting the brakes and try to avoid it.”
However, other witnesses told the court Hansen had told them after the crash that he had forgotten what he was doing and had driven up the wrong side of the road.
Judge Lady Stacey deferred sentence for the preparation of background reports, and agreed to allow him out on bail – on the condition he hand over his passport.
“You appreciate you have been convicted of causing death and injury by careless driving,” she said.
“I am not prepared to allow you to return to Denmark.”