JUST DESERTS
SPEEDING MOTORIST WHO KILLED CABBIE IN BARRHEAD CRASH JAILED FOR 7 AND A HALF YEARS
A speeding motorist who killed a private hire driver in a head-on crash near Barrhead has been jailed for seven and a half years. Scott Gilligan also had no insurance when he got behind the wheel of a Vauxhall Insignia on June 14, 2021. The 35-year-old, of Paisley, went onto the wrong side of the road at a bend before hitting a Skoda Octavia driven by Edward Cullen. This also resulted in Margaret Mansell - who was on her daily walk - being flung into a hedge.
Mr Cullen passed away in hospital three months after the collision on the A736 Glasgow Road. The 55-year-old had only recently returned to his private hire job having survived a heart attack. Miss Mansell, 60, meantime was also badly hurt after being struck. Gilligan was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow on Tuesday 14 November. He had previously pleaded guilty to causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving. Lady Stacey told him he had been witnessed driving “at speed,
aggressively and erratically” that day. The judge added: “Mr Cullen lost his life - there is nothing I can say or do which will take away the grief his family has felt and will continue to feel.” Gilligan - who already had previous road traffic convictions - was also banned from driving for a total of nine years and nine months. The court was told Gilligan was driving at 69mph in a 40mph zone that day and had been seen trying to overtake a small van before the fatal crash.
CHESTER MAN GIVEN COMMUNITY ORDER AND TO PAY COMPENSATION FOR DAMAGING WREXHAM TAXI
A Chester man pulled the wing mirror off a taxi and then demanded its owner pay him to get it back. Kevin Barlow, of Clutton, appeared at Wrexham Magistrates Court on 14 November, for sentence. The 45-year-old had previously pleaded guilty to one offence of criminal damage, which took place on August 19. Prosecutor Rhian Jackson told the court that at around 9.20pm, taxi driver Karim Abdul Laatif-Begum picked up the defendant in the centre of Wrexham. Barlow told the victim to take him to his friend’s home in ‘Rhostyllen’ and paid a £5.50 fare for the journey. But when they arrived there, it became clear he didn’t know his friend’s address. It turned out when checking over the phone that the address was actually in Rhos, which Mr Laatif-
PHTM DECEMBER 2023
Begum said would cost a further £4. Barlow paid the sum and after arriving at the destination he got out and started demanding £10 from the victim. When he didn’t receive the demanded money, he took hold of a wing mirror and pulled it off, telling Mr Laatif-Begum he could have it back if he paid £10 for it. The victim locked his car as Barlow threw the mirror at his window. Barlow was arrested and when interviewed, he told the police he’d consumed four or five pints that night. He claimed it had been the victim who demanded more money from him and that the wing mirror simply ‘fell off’ when he leaned on it. A probation officer told the court: “In terms of his record, he did have a criminal damage in 2019 and it is interesting to note that during
that incident, Mr Barlow was the victim and damaged the perpetrator’s car by kicking the wing mirror off. “It shows a pattern of behaviour developing.” District Judge Gwyn Jones told the defendant: “That taxi is [Mr Laatif-Begum’s] bread and butter - and when it’s off the road, he’s not earning anything. “He is providing a valuable service and it is clear you reacted wholly and utterly inappropriately. “That may be due to alcohol more than anything else. It is also clear on occasions you have difficulty in managing your emotions, and controlling your anger.” The Judge handed down a 12- month community order with 20 days of rehabilitation activity and 75 hours of unpaid work. Barow must also pay compensation of £590.48 and costs of £85.
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