American historian killed by van driver who mounted pavement while high on cannabis

A van driver who was under the influence of cannabis and using his mobile phone when he killed a distinguished academic has been jailed for four and a half years.

Darren Gilmour failed to control the van he was driving and mounted a pavement before colliding with Dr William Noel on Trinity Crescent in Edinburgh on April 10 last year

The victim died 19 days later at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary after sustaining severe head trauma following the collision.

A judge told Gilmour, 42, that he would have faced a six-year prison term but for his guilty plea to causing the death of Dr Noel by dangerous driving.

Dr Noel, 58, from Philadelphia in America, was in Edinburgh in his role as an associate librarian for special collections at Princeton University.

Lord Cubie said that a victim impact statement from the deceased’s brother made it clear that “his sudden and unexpected death so far from home was a catastrophic event”.

The former Cambridge University student left a wife and teenage son, and the family had to deal with “the almost unbearable decision to switch off life support”, said the judge.

Lord Cubie said: “The loss was and is, as I have said, devastating.”

The judge said that Gilmour’s recreational cannabis use was “troubling” and added that the case was an example of the folly and danger of a driver being distracted by a mobile phone.

Gilmour, formerly of Dalkeith, in Midlothian, had earlier admitted causing the death by dangerous driving while under the influence of cannabis and repeatedly interacting with his mobile phone.

He failed to maintain proper observations of the road ahead and failed to keep control of the van, which mounted the pavement and struck pedestrian Dr Noel and clipped a woman colleague.

Lord Cubie said that the deceased had no chance to take evasive action before he was hit.

Advocate depute Alex Prentice KC said: “As Gilmour drove his Citroen Relay van, he was under the influence of cannabis and was interacting with his telephone, which was not connected to a hands-free system.”

Dr Noel was lifted onto the bonnet of the vehicle and hit the windscreen before landing on the ground. An off-duty doctor and a passing nurse went to his aid before he was taken to hospital. Gilmour was uninjured in the collision

The victim’s wife was contacted in Pennsylvania and flew to Scotland to be with her husband in his final days.

The court heard that Gilmour, a cabinet maker, was found to have 2.4 mg of THC from cannabis per one litre of blood. The legal limit is 2 mg.

Defence counsel Tony Graham KC said of Gilmour: “He is an unextraordinary man who has led an unextraordinary life.”

He said Gilmour has expressed genuine remorse and added: “Sorry is not enough. Sorry will do little to satisfy those who are bereaved.”

The defence counsel added that actions spoke louder than words in such a situation, and Gilmour took the only action available to him to address the situation he placed himself in by pleading guilty.

Dr Noel, a medievalist, was described as “a scholar of note” in a tribute by a professor at Cambridge University and was honoured by the Obama White House for his commitment to open science.

Gilmour was also banned from driving for eight years and three months and required to sit an extended test before driving again