Drivers who killed woman in 111mph 'race' jailed

Two men who caused the death of an Ayrshire woman while racing at speeds of up to 111mph have each been sentenced to eight years in jail.

Rory Nimmo, 26, and John Clark, 43, were convicted last month at the High Court in Glasgow of causing death by dangerous driving following the crash on the A70 near Ayr in the early hours of 28 October 2022.

The court heard they had been travelling at "grossly excessive speeds" as they raced each other in the dark just before 6am.

Nimmo, driving a modified Audi TT, lost control after attempting to overtake Clark's Ford Focus, and collided with a Renault Kangoo van on the opposite side of the road, driven by 46-year-old Shona McKinlay.

The care worker, from Dreghorn in Ayrshire, was described by friends as "beautiful and amazing inside and out".

She died at the scene while her colleague Rosalind Hodge was seriously injured.

Both men denied the charge of causing death by dangerous driving, with Clark claiming he had been the victim of "mistaken identity" and had not been involved.

Clark, of Drongan in Ayrshire, accepted that he had been on that stretch of road on his way to work that morning but claimed it was at a different time to the crash.

In his evidence, Nimmo, of Cumnock in Ayrshire, denied racing anyone or having been "desperate" to get past the Ford Focus.

However prosecutors said Nimmo and Clark did "engage in a race with each other" and were going at "grossly excessive speeds" of up to 111mph.

The court heard the cars had been seen at points driving side by side in dark conditions on single lane roads.

Nimmo's car was described in court as "extensively modified" and the Audi's tyres were below the legal minimum tread.

His car was reported to have overtaken Clark's Ford Focus when it was unsafe to do so, causing him to end up on the wrong side of the road.

The court heard Clark had accelerated in an attempt to prevent Nimmo overtaking.

The pair took a bend at speed with Nimmo losing control of his car when he tried to brake, fatally colliding head-on with Miss McKinlay's van on the opposite side of the road.

In her closing speech, prosecutor Tracey Brown said Miss McKinlay died following a "catastrophic loss of control" by Nimmo, and stated Clark was also guilty of the charge for his role in what occurred.

She said: "The Crown case is that this was no slight misjudgement."

Sentencing the pair on Thursday, Judge Douglas Brown described both Nimmo's and Clark's driving as "utterly irresponsible and highly dangerous".

He said the risk of causing serious harm had been obvious but the pair had ignored it with devastating consequences.

The judge said witnesses had seen Nimmo and Clark racing at what they estimated as 90mph but CCTV video evidence suggested they recorded as much as 111mph and were just half a second apart.

He said that they had narrowly avoided a collision just moments earlier.

Ms Hodge, who had been in the van with Ms McKinlay, was said to have described the impact of the crash as "like an explosion".

The judge said she suffered serious injuries from which she feels she will never recover.

Ms Hodge also spoke of the massive psychological trauma of seeing her colleague die beside her.

Nimmo's Audi's was said to have disintegrated on impact but the driver was cut from the wreckage, suffering serious injuries.

The judge said Clark avoided the crash and drove on, hoping to avoid detection.

Clark's lawyer told the court that his client maintained his innocence regarding the offence, while Nimmo's defence emphasised the significant impact the incident had had on his career in aeronautical engineering as well as on his personal relationships.

The judge said the perception might be that Nimmo was the one accountable as he was involved in the crash but he said the pair were jointly responsible for the harm caused.

That's why they received the same sentence of eight years in prison and a driving ban for the next 12 years, he said.