A driver killed a grandad-of-three after crashing into his motorbike in Glasgow's east end.
Peter Dunnachie, 45, hit biker Iain Wyatt, 43, at a roundabout near Ballieston. The tragic smash took place on May 30, 2020.
Wyatt tried to avoid the collision by leaning to the side which left scuff marks from his trainers on the road. The police forensic nurse was found lying on the road after witnesses heard a loud bang, court heard.
He suffered a bleed to the brain and a fractured spine among other injuries. He was declared dead at the scene by medics. Dunnachie of Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, pled guilty to causing death by careless driving.
READ MORE: Lanarkshire taxi driver accused of sexually assaulting teenager walks free after case not proven
Sheriff Joseph Platt ordered Dunnachie to do 210 hours of unpaid work and disqualified him from driving for two years and three months. Dunnachie - who will lose his employment as a driver - was also tagged for six months keeping him indoors between 8pm and 7am for the first half and 10pm to 7am for the final three months.
The sheriff said: "Mr Wyatt lost his life and all that offered him, he had a rich life and that ended with an action that was difficult to explain. The family's statements say that they have suffered and no sentence passed can be appropriate for what they have suffered.
"Having regard to the sentencing guidelines and provisions relating to someone who has not served a custodial sentence before, it is a matter of law that a community sentence must be imposed in this case."
Glasgow Sheriff Court heard Mr Wyatt was on a Honda motorbike at the roundabout near the M73 when Dunnachie entered from a slip road.
Prosecutor Lauren Staunton said: "Mr Wyatt reacted to the presence of the motor vehicle emerging from the junction, causing him to break heavily, creating locked wheel tyre marks on the road. The heavy breaking of the motorbike caused the bike to lean extensively to its near side resulting in scuff marks from Mr Wyatt's trainers.
"The motorbike then collided with the front offside of the motor vehicle resulting in scuff and tyre marks. The motorbike slid on its offside across the road surface trailed by Mr Wyatt, creating various scratches and gouge marks on the road.
"Mr Wyatt was thrown from his motorbike across the carriageway. The motorbike struck the raised kerb of the roundabout and came to a rest."
Witnesses saw the motorbike "wobble" before hearing a "loud bang." One witness noted that Mr Wyatt was "making avoidance moves" and noticed that his left foot was down.
Mr Wyatt was then seen on the ground alongside his motorbike. He was tended to at the scene by a first aider who reported that Mr Wyatt was "struggling to breathe."
Medics later arrived but Mr Wyatt was pronounced dead at the scene. A post mortem stated that the cause of death was "multiple injuries and road traffic collision".
It was noted that the "extensive severe injuries consistent with death were caused by a road traffic collision where the deceased was thrown to the ground." Mr Wyatt's main injuries were to the head, chest, abdomen and pelvis.
There was also evidence of bleeding to the brain as well as fractures to ribs, spine, pelvis, collapsed lungs as well as wounds to the spleen and liver. Dunnachie meantime was "in shock not making much sense" before identifying himself as the driver to police.
He later gave a no comment interview.
Miss Staunton said: "Collision investigators state that Dunnachie failed to look property to observe the motorbike. He entered the roundabout when it was unsafe to do so directly into the path of the motorbike.
"The inattention of Dunnachie has resulted in the death of Mr Wyatt."
Brian Cooney, defending, told the sentencing that it was an “extremely tragic accident.”
The lawyer added: "He is not in a position to say how he didn’t see the motorbike - the explanation is he looked and he didn’t see it. It has been extremely unfortunate to where the motorbike is struck as to what then happened.
"The consequences of this are extremely unimaginable."
READ NEXT
Glasgow man who started St Simon's church inferno warned he faces extended jail term
Glasgow police charge man 'in possession of knife' at bar on Sauchiehall Street
Man accused of being US fugitive Nicholas Rossi forced Glasgow hospital staff to flee from bedside
Fire crews battling blaze at electrical substation on outskirts of Glasgow
Glasgow woman wakes up to intruder exposing himself in her Govan flat
