Hit-and-run driver jailed for 30 months for killing teenager

Wednesday 31 October 2012

A DRIVER who knocked down and killed a popular teenager in a hit-and-run incident has been jailed for 30 months.

TRAGIC: Robert Dickie was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Ayr after as he returned from a party.

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Michael McInnes, 21, struck Robert Dickie after the 17-year-old attended a party with friends before he started university.

Robert – also known as Robbie – had texted his father just hours before the tragedy in September last year to say what an "amazing time" he had been having.

Aircraft technician McInnes returned to the dock yesterday after admitting to causing death by dangerous driving.Lady Stacey told him she accepted he came from a good background, but that his driving had been "irresponsible".The court heard how Robert had been out with friends before he was due to start an architecture degree in Edinburgh.His dad David sent him a message around midnight on September 1 after the teenager had not yet come home.At around 2.30am, McInnes gave his brother and others a lift home from a club in Ayr.Prosecutor Stephen O'Rourke said McInnes had earlier downed half-a-bottle of Buckfast and a bottle of beer. He later stuck to soft drinks while in the club.McInnes was said to be "showing off" during the journey, weaving from side to side. A shape was then spotted in the road which turned out to be Robert, but Mr O'Rourke told the court it was "not clear" how he had come to be on the road.The advocate depute went on: "Someone within the car shouted and, as the accused turned his attention back to the road, it was too late and he struck Robert Dickie."McInnes initially drove around a corner before stopping to check the stricken teenager. However, after Robert was checked for a pulse, McInnes returned to his vehicle and drove off.Medics arrived at the scene, but Robert, of Arnprior Place, Ayr, did not survive his injuries.Lady Stacey said the jail term would have been three years, but for McInnes's guilty plea.

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Hit-and-run driver jailed for 30 months for killing teenager

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