A couple killed by a reckless driver while on their way to a retirement celebration holiday were given “absolutely no chance” by their killer, a judge has said.
On Tuesday, George Young Murphy, 55, was sentenced to seven years and eight months in jail for causing a head-on crash with an Audi Q2 driven by Martin and Josephine Cousland, who died at the scene.
The couple, described as “vigorous and extremely popular”, were on their way to Oban for a family holiday in the Isle of Mull with their two daughters, who were waiting for them in a hotel.
They never arrived. Instead, their daughters, Penelope and Zoe, received the “catastrophic news” that their parents had been involved in a crash by telephone from a police officer .
Murphy, who had a history of road traffic offences, had attempted to overtake three cars and a bus on the A75, about six miles from Tyndrum in Argyll, on March 31 2023, at high speed while approaching a blind summit and bend.
Lord Arthurson, presiding, described the manoeuvre as “highly dangerous” and said Murphy had “quite extraordinarily” attempted to overtake the bus after the three cars, despite clear signs warning of the road’s layout.
“It is clear that you gave the Couslands absolutely no chance,” he told Murphy.
“Your criminal actions robbed Mr and Mrs Cousland and their loved ones of a future together, and saw a family’s hopes and dreams dashed and future generations deprived of their love and guidance.
“Their daughters lost both of their parents simultaneously, in a moment. Their lives will never be the same.
“Putting matters bluntly, on that fatal day your time was more important to you than the lives and welfare of any of your fellow road users.”
Murphy’s two adult sons, who were travelling with him in his Ford Mondeo, also suffered serious injuries but survived.
Mrs Cousland, 69, who had worked in human resources, had been driving at the time with her 70-year-old husband, who was an engineering project manager before his retirement.
The couple lived on a farmhouse in the town of Anstruther in Fife.
Alex Prentice KC, prosecuting, said: “As she [Mrs Cousland] emerged out of a dip in the road, her vehicle collided head-on with the Ford Mondeo.
“Several drivers and passengers from other vehicles ran to assist the occupants of both cars. There was nothing they could do to save the lives of Josephine and Martin Cousland.”
Murphy, of Thornliebank, East Renfrewshire, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to a charge of causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving, with his sentence reduced from 11 years as a result.
Tony Graham KC, mitigating, said he could not excuse his client’s “exceptionally foolhardy approach to that bend”. He added: “He is a man broken, but realises that is insignificant to what others have lost.”
Following the hearing, the Couslands’s daughters said no sentence will “bring back” their parents.
In a statement, they added: “Due to the legal processes, we have been deprived of anything more than the mere basic facts of what happened until the plea hearing in November.
“We would urge those in power to consider changes to legislation to care better for grieving families and bystanders of road traffic offences.
“Every day we mourn the loss of our fun, loving and kind parents, who have been victims of such a senseless crime.”
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