The brother of a West Lothian man who died after a hit-and-run accident has vowed to see justice done after prosecutors dropped the case.
George Robertson, known as Mojo, died in September 2020 after being hit by a vehicle while he was walking along the B792 between Bathgate and Torphichen.
The father-of-two was left injured on the road and passed away hours later in hospital.
The occupants of the car fled but were eventually traced in July last year and arrested in connection with the crash.
But despite police and investigators presenting a wealth of evidence, including damage to the car and phone signals that placed the pair at the scene, the Crown Office this week told George’s devastated family that there would be no prosecution because of a lack of admissible evidence.
George’s older brother David said that the pair have not been held to account after refusing to say anything other than “no comment” to officers.
He said he will meet with a lawyer next week with the view to launching a private or civil prosecution to “name and shame” the pair.
David said: “They left George there to die. We don’t know what the outcome would have been, but they didn’t offer assistance or go for help, they didn’t phone 999.
“They didn’t give him a hope in Hell.
“These people are living their lives and their families have no idea that their son and daughter could do what they did.
“We don’t want compensation, we want to name and shame them. It won’t bring my brother back, but there needs to be justice served on them.
“They have absolutely no values. “There’s got to be a bit of justice.”
David said that his brother’s death has devastated their entire family.
His 86-year-old mother has become withdrawn and George’s daughter is too upset to even visit his grave.
He said that he would always remember his brother as one of life’s true gentlemen who “never had a bad bone in his body.”
David added: “He was always willing to help and you can see that from the tributes on social media.
“He worked
as a technician for Scobie Mcintosh and that meant he travelled the county.
“He would be working on a boiler in a Morrisons store in Inverness and on to Shetland and these people were sending condolences and wreaths.
“It showed how well thought of he was. “He’s left a wee laddie and lassie. “It’s heartbreaking, and for people to get away with this, it’s just so wrong.”
David went on: “If this pair had stopped and reported it, it would have gone down as a tragic accident, which it was.
“But they drove away and left him to die. “Where’s the justice in all this?”
David said that he wanted to thank the police, Procurator Fiscal and NISSAN in Sunderland whose investigations led to the people who were in the car being traced.
However, after the family was told there was no form of appeal and The Crown have reviewed and stand with the original case findings, David said: “Unfortunately, the justice system has let my family down very badly.”
A spokesperson for the Crown Office said: “Our thoughts are with the family of George Robertson at what must be a very difficult time for them.
“The Procurator Fiscal received a report relating to a man and woman in connection with an incident said to have taken place on September 20, 2020.
“After careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case, including the available admissible evidence, Crown
Counsel decided that there should be no proceedings taken at this time.
“Crown Office officials have met with the family to discuss the case with them.”
The spokesperson added: “The Crown reserves the right to proceed in the future should further evidence become available.”
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