A DRIVER wept as he told a jury he was to blame for the death of a 15-year-old schoolgirl who was knocked down on a crossing.
Kieran Kennedy, 20, from Chapelton, South Lanarkshire, said that he failed to notice traffic lights had turned from green to amber as he drove his black Volkswagen Sirocco along the Kingsway, East Kilbride on October 18, 2017, at around 40mph.
Kennedy, who had only passed his driving test weeks before, hit Megan Scott as she walked across the pedestrian crossing at 5.46pm.
Defence QC John Scullion asked Kennedy: “We have seen CCTV footage of the traffic lights changing from green to amber did you see them change,” and he replied: “No.”
He added: “The next thing at the bottom left hand corner of the windscreen I just saw a phone and I slammed on the brakes.”
Mr Scullion said: “When you slammed on the brakes did you hit someone with your car,” and he replied: “Megan Scott.”
READ MORE: Driver 'skipped red light before fatally knocking down East Kilbride teen'
Kennedy said he got out of his car and then dialled 999.
He denies causing Megan’s death by dangerous driving, but has offered to plead guilty to the lesser charge of careless driving.
Former rail track maintenance worker Kennedy, who has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, told the jury: “It’s the only thing I think about.”
The court was told that Kennedy has not driven since May 2018.
Kennedy was asked how he felt about Megan’s death and said: “I never knew her but I just think about her every single day and how sorry I am.
“I just want to say sorry to her family. I know they’ll never forgive me, but I just want to say sorry to them. I’ll never stop being sorry.”
The trial continues.
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article