A tipper truck driver responsible for causing the death of a woman on the A1 in East Lothian has been sentenced.
Michael Friel, now aged 57 from Haddington, pled guilty at Edinburgh High Court on 14th January 2019 to causing the death of 26-year-old Meghan Ambrozevich-Blair by dangerous driving.
Meghan, a veterinary nursing student from Dunbar, was travelling to work northbound on the A1 in her Kia Cerato when she was struck head-on around 7.45am on 9th December 2016.
Friel, driving a Ford Transit tipper van, had joined the dual carriageway in the wrong direction and continued to travel south in the northbound lanes between the Spott and Thistly Cross roundabouts.
A number of drivers had to swerve to avoid Friel before he collided with Meghan’s car. Meghan, who sustained significant injuries, sadly died at the scene. At Glasgow High Court, Friel has now been sentenced to three and a half years in jail and disqualified from driving for nine years and nine months. Sergeant Gary Taylor of the Road Policing Unit said: “This was a senseless and devastating loss of a young woman’s life.
“Our thoughts remain with Meghan’s family and friends who, I hope, now feel some sense of justice after more than two years of waiting.
“The consequences of dangerous driving have been shown to be catastrophic for all those affected. Meghan had everything ahead of her and the lives of her loved ones are forever changed.
“We will continue to work every day to try and keep road users safe and would urge the public to report any concerns about driver behaviour to Police Scotland on 101, always dialling 999 in an emergency.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
