The 52-year-old truck driver is found guilty of killing a “beautiful and sensitive” kindergarten teacher who was thrown 100ft after being struck by an extended stabilizer leg on his vehicle
- John O’Donnell, 52, had denied driving dangerously and killing Chloe Morrison
- In October 2019, Ms Morrison, 26, was walking on a sidewalk with her mother
- She was hit in the back and thrown 100 feet and died of multiple fractures
- The judgment has been postponed to next month in Glasgow High Court
John O’Donnell (pictured), 52, has been convicted of killing Chloe Morrison, 26, by careless driving
A driver has been found guilty of killing a “beautiful and sensitive” kindergarten teacher after a fully extended support leg from his truck hit her.
John O’Donnell, 52, had denied driving dangerously and killed Chloe Morrison as she walked with her mother on a pavement in Drumnadrochit, Inverness-shire, Scotland in October 2019.
Miss Morrison, 26, of Inverness, was hit in the back and thrown 30 meters. She died of multiple broken bones.
Yesterday Miss Morrison’s family broke down in tears as O’Donnell was convicted in the High Court in Inverness on the lesser charge of causing her death by negligent driving.
They said, “It should have been the more serious charge, but we have to accept the jury’s decision.”
Lord Stuart postponed the judgment in the Glasgow High Court until next month and asked for a background report.
A driver has been found guilty of killing the “beautiful and sensitive” Chloe Morrison after a fully extended support leg from his truck hit her
Defense attorney Tony Graham urged his client to continue bail.
The judge told O’Donnell that if he had been sentenced to death for dangerous driving, he would not have granted bail and remanded him in custody.
O’Donnell, from Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, was immediately disqualified from driving.
On Tuesday, assistant attorney David Dickson asked the jury to convict the truck driver on the more serious charge, saying O’Donnell should have seen the boom stabilizer leg unlocked and unsafe.
Miss Morrison’s family said yesterday: “Chloe was our beautiful, sensitive, funny and much loved daughter who is cherished not only by us but by all her close friends and work colleagues. Your memories will stay with us forever.’
According to the hearing, O’Donnell was on a return journey from Skye to Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire when Miss Morrison was beaten. He insisted that he had not extended the outriggers. (stock photo)
According to the hearing, O’Donnell was on a return journey from Skye to Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire when Miss Morrison was beaten.
He insisted that he had not extended the outriggers.
Early in the trial, the court heard that yellow warning labels were attached to the outriggers to indicate they were unlocked and that one could be seen in O’Donnell’s passenger-side wing mirror.
A tearful O’Donnell said he didn’t know what the yellow tags meant but agreed if he had seen it and seen it in his mirror “Chloe Morrison would still be here today”.
O’Donnell said, “I’ve lost faith in myself. I have nothing left in me to drive a truck.”
