Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Lanarkshire Live

Driver who killed former police officer in motorbike crash walks free from court

A driver who killed a former police officer on a motorbike in a horror crash walked free from court today.

Robert Findlay, 41, ploughed into James Dalkin, 61, on the A76 in October 2018.

Findlay was convicted at the High Court in Glasgow of causing the death by careless driving.

Judge Sean Murphy QC ordered Findlay to do 200 hours of unpaid work.

He was also disqualified from driving for three years.

An earlier hearing was told the tragedy happened on the A76 near Dumfries on October 6, 2018.

Findlay was driving his black Ford S-Max, while Mr Dalkin was on his Kawasaki motorbike.

Pensioner Mary Whitehead was taking photos nearby when she heard a "bang".

In a police statement, the 74-year-old said: "I saw a silver car being overtaken by a black car and the motorbike.

"The motorbike was already on the overtake with the silver car when the black car pulled out to overtake."

During her testimony, prosecutor Chris McKenna asked the witness what she saw next.

She replied: "I saw the rider of the motorbike flying through the air 10 feet above the ground at least.

"He turned a full 180 degrees in mid-air."

Another witness – 67-year-old Carol Taylor – was in the silver car and recalled commenting about the Ford driver: "What is this idiot doing?"

Findlay, of Sanquhar, Dumfries and Galloway, was originally accused of causing death by dangerous driving before being convicted of the lesser charge.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.