"On 13 January 2005 on a road or other public place, namely Beach Boulevard, Aberdeen at its junction with Links Road, Aberdeen you did cause the death of Lisa Marie Wyllie formerly residing at 11 Inchbrae Drive, Aberdeen by driving a mechanically propelled vehicle, namely motor vehicle registered number A8 FBW dangerously and did drive at excessive speed and fail to comply with a red signal shown by traffic lights and did collide with motor vehicle registered number Y756 MGR driven by Laura Jane Mackie, c/o Grampian Police, Queen Street, Aberdeen whereby said Laura Jane Mackie and Stuart Douglas Dempster, c/o Grampian Police, Queen Street, Aberdeen a passenger in your motor vehicle were injured and said Lisa-Marie Denise Wyllie, a passenger in motor vehicle registered number Y756 MGR was so severely injured that she died on 18 January 2005 at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Foresterhill Road, Aberdeen: CONTRARY to the Road Traffic Act 1988, Section 1."

" The appellant and a friend Stuart Dempster went for a drink together on the evening of 13 January 2005 at Sunset Boulevard, an establishment situated on Links Road in Aberdeen. They arrived there at about 9.30pm and the appellant consumed a pint of lager. There was no suggestion in the evidence that his ability to drive was impaired through drink. They left the premises at about 10pm and got into the appellant's car, which was an Audi S3 four wheel drive car, registered number A8 FBW. The appellant was driving, and Mr Dempster was in the front passenger seat. They were returning to the appellant's house. Their direct route to this destination would have taken them northwards along Links Road, to its junction with Beach Boulevard, and then left along Beach Boulevard towards Aberdeen city centre. The appellant did not take this route, but instead drove across Beach Boulevard and continued northwards on the continuation of Links Road. His route took him in a complete loop, past the Patio Hotel and the Beach Ballroom and back to Beach Boulevard at its junction with the Esplanade. The vehicle was stopped at the traffic lights at the eastern end of Beach Boulevard at its junction with the Esplanade; when these lights turned green, the appellant accelerated away and drove at speed towards the traffic lights governing the junction of Beach Boulevard with Links Road.

A large number of witnesses gave evidence about the speed at which the appellant was driving as he approached these traffic lights. Each of these witnesses formed the view that he was driving far too fast. Although that section of Beach Boulevard was dual carriageway with a grass central reservation it was subject to a 30 mph speed limit. Although witnesses' recollections differed in matters of detail, there was general agreement as to the fact that the car was travelling at high speed. A pedestrian who witnessed the subsequent accident stated that his attention was drawn to the appellant's car by the screaming of its engine and then the screeching of brakes. Another witness, Nathan Hopkins, was driving a Fiat car which stopped in the outside lane at the traffic lights at the eastern end of Beach Boulevard. The appellant's car came to a halt at those traffic lights in the inside lane. When those lights turned green, Mr Hopkins stated that he accelerated to about 30 mph, but the appellant pulled away from him and was driving much faster. At the time of the accident Mr Hopkins estimated the appellant's speed as being at least 70 or 80 mph. Mr Hopkins could see that the appellant drove through the traffic lights at the junction with Links Road when they were at red. Dee McDonald was the front seat passenger in the Fiat car, and her attention was drawn to the appellant's car by the speed at which he accelerated from the traffic lights. She thought that the Fiat accelerated to about 30 mph after the lights turned to green, but the Audi was travelling at twice that speed or maybe more. She saw the appellant drive the Audi through the traffic lights at the junction with Links Road when they were at red. Liam Smith was the rear seat passenger in the Fiat car. He too thought that the Fiat accelerated to about 30 mph, and that the Audi accelerated to 60 mph or maybe more. He too saw the Audi drive through a red traffic light and the collision then occurred.

Mr Dempster was in the front passenger seat of the Audi, but was not paying much attention to the appellant's driving because he was texting on his mobile phone. He estimated the speed of the Audi at closer to 40 mph, but he was not looking at the speed. Michael Robertson was driving his estate car in an easterly direction along Beach Boulevard, i.e. in the opposite direction to that in which the Audi was travelling. His attention was drawn to the Audi by its speed. He stated that he could not believe the speed of the car - his eyes were on it all the way down Beach Boulevard, and he saw the collision. He was asked what his impression of the speed of the Audi was and he guessed 80 or 90 mph. He described the speed of the car as 'horrendous'.

Natalie Paterson was sitting with friends in a silver Renault Clio car which was parked on the south side of Beach Boulevard facing in a westerly direction and approximately 100 yards from its junction with Links Road. She was chatting to her friends when her attention was drawn by the sound of a revving engine. She saw the appellant's Audi car 'flying' past. She thought 'Oh my God, what's he doing?', and one of her friends in the car said 'Oh my God he's going too fast'. She noticed that the lights were set at red for the Audi, and she saw the Audi drive through the red lights and collide with another car. Claire Strachan was also in the same car as Natalie Paterson, and noticed a vehicle approaching at high speed. It was the appellant's dark blue Audi. She stated that their car shook with the speed of the Audi as it went past. She estimated the speed of the Audi as it passed them at over 60 mph. She said that it wasn't going to stop, and it kind of sped up to get through the traffic lights. She saw no signs of the Audi braking, and she saw the subsequent collision.

Audrey Mathers was driving her red Suzuki in a northerly direction along Links Road. She stopped at the traffic lights at the junction of Links Road and Beach Boulevard, and saw a small silver car on Beach Boulevard facing away from Aberdeen City Centre and waiting to turn right into Links Road. That car was stationary, and then began to turn into Links Road. Out of the corner of her eye Mrs Mathers saw a dark car 'flying' along Beach Boulevard and she thought 'Oh my God'. Mrs Mathers had been driving for 25 years, and her impression of the speed of the Audi was in the region of about 70 mph.

Edith McKimmie was stationary in another car on Links Road, at its junction with Beach Boulevard. She was waiting for the traffic lights to turn green in her favour. She saw the small silver car with two young girls in it approach the junction along Beach Boulevard from the city centre and come to a halt at the traffic lights, waiting to turn into Links Road. It was signalling to turn right. Suddenly from nowhere a dark coloured car appeared and hit the silver car at the junction. Her impression of the speed of the dark coloured car was that it was being driven very fast - maybe at 80 mph. Kim Clarke was in yet another car waiting at the Links Road traffic lights and she saw the collision between the Audi and the silver car. Her attention was focused on the Audi because of its speed, and she observed that it must have been travelling at considerably more than 30 mph.

I make reference to the evidence of the above witnesses with regard to speed not to suggest that their evidence was accurate, but to give an indication as to the impression which the appellant's driving made on other independent witnesses. All of them considered that he was driving at a grossly excessive speed, far in excess of the legal limit, and he drove through a red traffic light immediately before colliding with the small silver car in which the deceased was a front seat passenger. On the basis of the unchallenged evidence of the police expert accident investigator PC Christopher Smith, it is clear that the speed of the appellant's car at the point of impact was not as fast as the estimates of the independent witnesses. He calculated that the pre-impact speed of the Audi was 50 mph. The traffic lights at the junction were operating normally and in accordance with the national standard. They had turned red 1.44 seconds before the impact, and had been at amber for 3 seconds before this; the appellant should therefore have been prepared to stop some 4.44 seconds before the impact. Assuming that he had been driving at a constant 50 mph over this period, he would have been 99.42 metres from the point of impact when the traffic lights turned amber, and 32.24 metres from the point of impact when they turned red. The equivalent distances to the stop line at the traffic lights (as opposed to the point of impact) were 79.02 metres and 11.85 metres. At the point when the traffic lights turned amber, the appellant would have had sufficient time and distance to bring his vehicle to a halt in compliance with the red light and thus avoid a collision, even if he had been travelling at 50 mph."