Dangerous driver jailed after killing partner

Nov 13 2009 Ayrshire Post (main ed)

A DRIVER who admitted killing his partner and her mum in a horror road crash has been jailed for more than six years.

Stephen Macpherson, from Troon, was driving his car at around 90 mph when he went over a hump-backed bridge.

His Peugeot 406 took off and flipped. Experts described the crash scene as looking like that of a plane crash at Edinburgh High Court.

Macpherson’s partner, Lynn Paterson, 41, was killed instantly in the April 2007 crash.

Her mum Margaret McGarvie, 70, died two days later.

Two children aged 15 and 10 were also travelling in the back, but they survived the crash.

Prosecutor Andrew Stewart told the court that Ms Paterson had only collected the car from a dealer that day.

Macpherson admitted causing death by dangerous driving on the B9163 Balblair to Culbokie road.

Jailing him for 81 months judge Lord Menzies told Macpherson: “You were driving at a crazy speed on a minor road and you continued at this speed over an obvious hazard, namely a hump-backed bridge, which caused you to lose control of the car.

“You continued to drive at this reckless speed despite warnings and entreaties from your passengers to slow down.”

The judge also condemned Macpherson's “cavalier and dangerous attitude” to traffic rules after hearing that he had previously been jailed for nine months for dangerous driving and also had convictions involving drink and driving.

But, he added: “Nothing I can do by way of sentence can bring back Lynn Paterson and Margaret McGarvie.”