A HGV driver who killed a mum-to-be in a crash on a busy motorway just one week before Christmas has been jailed for more than two years after he became “distracted” whilst driving.
Trevor Norgate, 58, was behind the wheel of the lorry when it veered off the M8 just west of Hermiston Gait in Edinburgh. He continued into the hard shoulder for around 88 metres before he crashed into Evelyn Brown, 41, who had stopped her car in the hard shoulder.
The nurse, who was 34 weeks pregnant at the time, sadly died following the tragedy which happened shortly after 9am on December 18, 2023. In tributes which poured in after her death, she was described as a loving nurse who had a “large heart” and the most “beautiful smile”.
Sentencing Norgate on Friday, Judge Lord Armstrong told him that as a result of his actions, “two lives have been lost” and the lives of Ms Brown’s close relatives had been “materially impacted in significantly detrimental ways”.
He added: “The fact remains this is a very serious matter. No sentence I can impose can in any sense be a measure of the value of the lives that have been lost, nor provide a comfort to the family whose own lives have been devastated as a result.
“I have read and take into account victim impact statements by Ms Brown’s mother and stepsister, which are eloquent in their terms, explaining the extent of their tragic loss and their difficulties in coming to terms with it.
“As the result of your actions, their lives have been changed radically for the worse.” He acknowledged the fact Norgate had “accepted responsibility” for his actions at an early stage, and that it was he who called 999 following the incident.
However he said he had “no alternative” but to impose a prison term, and sentenced him to two years and eight months in prison. He also disqualified Norgate from driving for four years and eight months, and said he would have to complete an extended driving test before being allowed to drive again.
Norgate’s lawyer told the High Court in Edinburgh that his client had been “momentarily distracted for seven or eight seconds at most” before the crash. He pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving at a hearing on March 27.
Norgate, dressed in a blue fleece and purple tracksuit bottoms, showed no emotion as the sentence was handed down. Norgate’s lawyer David Nicolson KC said his client was “utterly devastated” by what happened, and that he will “never, ever get over what he did on this particular morning”.
He added his client had watched footage of the incident but remains “absolutely at a loss” as to how he became “distracted” for the seven or eight seconds it took for the lorry to collide with Ms Brown’s car.
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