The family of a grandfather who was killed after a driver’s “cat and mouse” race on a Scottish road, which ended with the death of two people, have spoken of their “immeasurable loss”.
Daniel Kelly, 43, raced his car on a rural road in Ayrshire alongside another vehicle driven by Adam Smith, 35, in July 2021. Moments after the “competitive driving”, there was a head-on collision with a third car in the oncoming lane.
The crash claimed the lives of Adam Smith and 65-year-old Gary Patterson, who was a passenger in the third vehicle. The grandfather’s family has spoken out for the first time after Kelly was allowed to walk free, avoiding a prison sentence.
A family statement issued via law firm Digby Brown said: “Gary was a much-loved and devoted husband, dad, and papa, and a wonderful brother, uncle, and friend.
“The loss we have suffered is immeasurable, but the outpouring of love and support from those around us has brought much comfort. We now kindly request our privacy be respected as we attempt to move forward.”
Kelly, of Irvine, Ayrshire, stood trial at the High Court in Kilmarnock earlier this year, accused of causing the deaths of Smith and Gary Patterson on the A713 near Patna, Ayrshire.
A jury cleared him of causing the deaths of the two men. However, jurors convicted him of driving dangerously in the moments before the collision that claimed their lives.
On Wednesday, Kelly appeared for sentencing at the High Court in Edinburgh. Defence solicitor advocate Iain McSporran KC told Judge Welsh that his client stayed at the scene in the aftermath of the fatal collision and was traumatised by what he had witnessed.
Judge Welsh agreed and imposed a community payback order as a “direct alternative” to custody. Kelly was sentenced to 250 hours of unpaid work, put on a tag for nine months, and banned from driving for four years.
Judge Welsh told Kelly: “Your driving was dangerous. There was racing. There was competitive driving.
“In all the circumstances, I am persuaded to pass a community payback order. You will perform 250 hours of unpaid work.”
Driver Stuart Campbell told prosecutor David Dickson how a black VW Scirocco overtook him on a blind bend. He said this vehicle was followed by a silver VW Passat, which then overtook the black car at a speed bump.
Mr Campbell, 77, testified at the High Court in Kilmarnock that he believed the drivers were racing.
Catherine Patterson, 38, said she saw a black car head-on and a silver car in its own lane before the black car collided with her vehicle. She was injured, her father died, and her mother Miriam, 65, was seriously injured.
Another witness, Robson Stirling, who was in Kelly’s Passat, was asked why his police statement mentioned “…there had been cat and mouse up until that…”.
The jury convicted Kelly of driving dangerously. The conviction stated that Kelly engaged in a race with Smith’s car at “excessive speed for the prevailing conditions,” overtook unsafely, and drove in “close proximity… at speed.”
On Wednesday, Mr. McSporran described his client’s driving as “selfish” and “stupid,” adding that Kelly assisted at the scene and that the experience deeply affected his mental health.
He said:“What he saw when he went to the door of the car that day will stay with him for a long time.”
Judge Welsh also ordered that Kelly remain at home between 7pm and 6am for a period of nine months.
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