A woman who admitted killing a two-year-old boy in a horror smash in the Highlands has been ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.
‘Bubbly’ Scots tot, Iain Mackay, from Wick, sadly died in hospital following the two-car smash on the A99 between Latheron and Wick. Iain had been returning home from a play park with his mum Ashlyne Mackay on August, 22 2021 when a Nissan Qashqai collided with their Peugeot 208.
Emergency services raced to the scene on the A99 at Occumster, near Lybster in the Highlands, where they found the youngster and his mother Ashlyne, now 28, seriously injured. The air ambulance was called to the scene alongside paramedics and police who worked for hours to stabilise the toddler at the side of the road.
Iain was then rushed to Caithness General Hospital in Wick before being flown down to the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow due to the extent of his injuries. His mum was initially flown to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary before later being transferred to Glasgow so she could say goodbye to her son.
Sonya Henderson, 47, of Lybster, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving in December and was banned from driving for 25 months. Sentencing Henderson at Wick Sheriff Court, Sheriff Neil Wilson said she was a first offender and her guilty plea had avoided the case having to go to trial.
He added: “This is an extremely serious matter. The court has had the benefit of victim impact statements. The ongoing effects of your actions on the deceased’s family are clear from these statements.
“I can do no more than add the court’s condolences for what can only be properly described as unimaginable grief.
“You pled guilty without the matter being taken to trial, thus avoiding the necessity of witnesses giving evidence and having to relive the events of the 22 August 2021.
“This is of significance as a trial would have involved the occupants of the vehicle you struck, and in particular Ashlyne Mackay, the mother of the deceased, giving evidence. This is to your credit, and the sentence imposed will take that into account.”
Last month, the court heard police crash investigators found that Henderson’s Nissan Qashqai had entered the bend on the opposing carriageway before the crash.
Following the tragic crash, tributes poured in for the toddler. One person wrote: “I don’t think there can be any worse thing in this world than losing a child. Heartfelt condolences to his family and may he now be in the arms of an angel.”
A second person added:”Absolutely heartbreaking. Such a happy wee manny with a cheeky smile. Life’s unbelievably cruel to the best.”
“The most funny, bubbly little boy you will ever meet. You always knew how to make us laugh. Don’t stop dancing up there. Fly high, wee man, love and miss you loads.”
Heartbroken gran Rebecca Hutson, 51, also vowed to leave a legacy for her grandson by raising funds for the air ambulance charity, who also helped save her daughter’s life. She said: “I just feel that if it hadn’t been for the air ambulance, I would have been burying two people I love, not just one.
“You don’t realise until it happens to you just how vital and how important that charity is. We recently found out that Ashlyne died twice after the crash but they saved her. With Iain, as a family, we wouldn’t have got the opportunity to say goodbye.
“I wouldn’t have got that opportunity to kiss him, to cuddle him and to read that last story. It was about a brave lion. We just wouldn’t have had that time with him.”
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