A FATHER-OF-THREE was killed by a lorry driver who was "in a hurry" after selling off stolen crates belonging to supermarket Lidl, an inquiry has heard.
A Fatal Accident Inquiry heard that "kind and caring" 71-year-old Jack Mustoe suffered multiple injuries when he was knocked down and dragged beneath a trailer driven by Saulius Gureckis.
The tragedy happened just minutes after Mr Mustoe, the owner of the Riggend Lorry Park in Airdrie, Lanarkshire had purchased a set of second-hand pallets from Mr Gureckis.
Read more: Lorry driver fights for life after blaze rips through cab
It subsequently emerged that Mr Gureckis, who was employed Bathgate-based freight company ChillFlo, had no reason to be at the Riggend site and was in fact selling pallets which he should have been returning to supermarket chain Lidl, a customer of ChillFlo.
He was later sacked for gross misconduct.
Sheriff Morag Shankland, who presided over the FAI into Mr Mustoe's death, said there was "no suggestion that from the evidence that the driver deliberately drove at Mr Mustoe". However, she said it was "beyond doubt" that Mr Gureckis was "in a hurry", and that his driving that day had been "reckless".
She added: "He was not supposed to be at the locus not should he have been carrying out the transaction that he was. He is seen clearly on the CCTV running back round to his cab and only two-three seconds elapse until he moves off."
Read more: Red weather warning issued with more snow on way
Sheriff Shankland said it was clear that the driver "did not see Mr Mustoe", but it was unclear whether that had been a result of him failing to check his mirrors properly or because Mr Mustoe had stepped into a blind spot.
The incident took place at Riggend Lorry Park shortly before noon on November 16 2016. Mr Mustoe, a widower and longtime supporter of the Salvation Army, had purchased the land - the site of a former filling station - in 1993 and converted it into a business recycling pallets and charging lorry drivers to park overnight. His daughter, Tracy Gibson, told the FAI the company was her father's pension.
At 11.45am, Mr Gureckis arrived at the yard. The pallets were unloaded from his lorry, money exchanged between Mr Gureckis and Mr Mustoe, and at 11.51 Mr Gureckis got back in his cab and drove off.
The determination states: "At that point, Mr Mustoe, who had his head down counting money, looked up and saw the lorry. In that split second he decided to run forwards obviously attempting to beat the lorry.
Read more: Heavy snow brings disruption to most of Scotland
"Tragically the lorry kept moving and Mr Mustoe was not able to run to the other side in time and the vehicle collided with him, dragging him with it until it stopped close to the gate. The driver did not at any stage attempt to slow down and it can be assumed that he did not see Mr Mustoe."
Mr Mustoe was pronounced dead by a paramedic at 12.07pm.
Mr Gureckis, who was described in court as a "very reliable and dependable" driver, was never charged. Lawyers for Mr Mustoe's family argued that they had suffered a miscarriage of justice because police officers had been "preoccupied with proving the existence of a blindspot and Mr Mustoe's presence in it and that in some way Mr Mustoe was to blame for the accident".
In Pictures: Snow sweeps across Scotland as 'Beast from East' bites
They insisted Mr Gureckis had moved off without checking his mirrors and should be charged with causing death by dangerous driving.
Sheriff Shankland said: "Consideration of Mr Mustoe's whereabouts does not seem to have formed any part of the driver's thought process at all before he drove off...if the driver checked his mirrors he could only have done so for a second or two. If he had checked his mirrors properly there is the possibility that he may have had the opportunity to see Mr Mustoe."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here