Man who stole Maserati and killed pensioner in crash faces ‘lengthy’ sentence

A 55-year-old man has been told he is facing a “lengthy” prison sentence after he admitted causing the death of a pensioner by dangerous driving.Fraser Garden, of no fixed abode, entered a car showroom in Broughty Ferry in the early afternoon of April 13 and stole a high-powered Maserati car parked in the forecourt.In what a judge described as an “appalling episode of driving” Garden then proceeded to drive the vehicle at speeds in excess of 80mph through a residential area of the town.This was nearly three times the 30mph speed limit.Garden also jumped a red light, drove on the wrong side of the road and overtook other vehicles into the face of oncoming traffic.The 55-year-old lost control of the vehicle at a bend at the junction of Forthill Road and Nursery Road, less than 750m from the showroom.Read MoreHe clipped a kerb, struck a traffic island and then ploughed through a hedge into a garden where 74-year-old John Bell was doing some work for a neighbour.The front of the car struck the former taxi driver before pinning him against the wall of the house, leaving him with “non-survivable” injuries.Advocate depute Graeme Jessop KC told Edinburgh High Court on Friday that just 3.3 seconds before the crash Garden had been travelling at 85mph.When the car struck the house it was still doing 34mph.He told the court that emergency services quickly arrived on the scene, where Mr Bell was found to have no sign of life, having suffered “multiple blunt force injuries”.Mr Jessop said when police arrested Garden on suspicion of causing death dangerous driving he replied “sorry”.The lawyer also told the court Garden had 90 previous convictions including “numerous” motoring offences, and that he had been under three separate disqualifications from driving on the day of the incident.On Friday, Garden admitted five charges, including theft of a motor vehicle, causing death by dangerous driving, and driving without insurance.He also admitted driving while disqualified and failing to provide a blood sample for drugs testing.Judge Lord Braid told Garden: “First of all this is a truly appalling piece of driving.“I think at this stage a lengthy custodial sentence is inevitable”.He adjourned sentencing for a criminal justice social work report to be drawn up, telling the court: “To be honest, it is such an appalling episode of driving that every last piece of information I can get can only assist”.The court heard Mr Bell had three children, 10 adult grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.The judge thanked Mr Bell’s family, some of whom were present in court, for submitting four separate victim impact statements.Garden was attending the hearing remotely from prison dressed in a green sweater.He appeared to cover his face with his hands as the detail of his offending was read out.He is due to be sentenced on August 21.Mr Jessop told the court that, on the day of the incident, Garden had seen the unlocked Maserati car while wandering around the forecourt and showroom area of the West End Garage in Broughty Ferry.The vehicle belonged to the garage’s director, who had purchased it five years earlier for £70,000, and it was estimated to be worth £40,000 on the day of the incident.Mr Jessop said the 523 brake horsepower car could go from 0-60mph in 4.6 seconds and had a top speed of 193mph.The court was shown photos taken after the crash, which showed the front of the car crumpled beyond recognition, with Mr Jessop saying it had been “irreparably damaged”.A member of Mr Bell’s family could be heard sobbing in the public gallery when the image was shown on the screen.