A MOTORIST killed an 86 year old pensioner after losing control of his car which had a tyre so bald that the cord was showing through.
Andrew Turner, 52, wept in the dock as he learned he faces a possible jail sentence after he pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving over the incident which claimed the live of Bournemouth pensioner Geraldine Hodge.
He told police he knew that his VW Golf had a tyre that was unroadworthy, but carried on using it.
He lost control of the car due to "inattention" and ploughed into an oncoming Mercedes carrying elderly Ms Hodge on the A82 near the Falls of Falloch, by Crianlarich, in Perthshire.
Stirling Sheriff Court was told yesterday that the tyre defects did not cause the crash, but had compromised Turner's attempts to correct his course on the road which was wet from summer rain.
The vehicles collided near the centre of the road, the Golf impacting heavily into the side of the Mercedes.
Miss Adam said Turner had checked the tyres previously and believed they were illegal and not roadworthy.
She added: "The defective front tyre on the wet road surface would have affected how quickly the Golf reacted to the steering input as the accused attempted to correct his road position, but had no impact on the eventual outcome."
Theresa Hodge, now 55, suffered a collapsed lung, and a fractured left leg, vertebrae and pelvis and permanently scarred.
Mark Hodge, 52, sustained cuts, bruising, and a broken thumb.
As he deferred sentence for reports on Turner, of Balloch, West Dunbartonshire, Sheriff Wyllie Robertson told him: "You appreciate that the gravity of this offence brings with it the possibility of a custodial sentence."
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