Delivery driver who killed motorcyclist claimed he couldn't see as 'sun was too bright'

A delivery driver has been convicted of killing a motorcyclist by smashing into him with his car.

Zakir Hussain, 50, struck Graham Paton, 61, during the horror collision in Glasgow’s Royston on February 22, 2021.

Hussain – behind the wheel of a Ford Kuga – was turning right across a road into a car auction when it was unsafe to do so.

Hussain hit Mr Paton who was riding on the side of the road the car was crossing to make the turn.

Mr Paton – who was on a Honda cb 650 bike – was propelled into the air and landed on the ground. He died in hospital two days later from his injuries.

Hussain – who works as a car delivery driver – claimed that he did not see Mr Paton as the sun was too bright.

Hussain was found guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court of causing Mr Paton’s death by careless driving.

A witness told the court that he was positioned behind a Corsa and what he believed was a Ford Kuga car.

He said: “The Kuga slowed down to turn right into the auction.

“The Corsa went round the left hand side and I slowed down to go around it.

“As the Kuga exited the road there was a motorbike coming towards it.

“The Kuga kept going and the motorbike went to the left as if to avoid it and they made contact.

“The bike hit the passenger side front end at the wheel.”

He told the court that he saw the motorbike early enough and that it was a bit of a distance away.

He added: “It was a good enough distance to react to it.”

The witness stated that he dialled 999 while other members of the public attended to the driver of the motorbike.

He claimed that the driver of the car was “shocked.”

Another witness stated he was positioned directly behind the vehicle in his red Corsa.

He said: “I was driving up the road and the car in front of me was sauntering up at 10 to 15 miles per hour.

“It was as if he was looking for his destination and then he pulled out in front of the motorbike.”

Prosecutor Niall Macdonald asked the man if the car had a reason to slow down.

He replied: “No, there were no cars in front of him.”

Mr Macdonald asked: “How was your view of the motorbike?”

He replied: “You can’t miss it, it was massive, it was one of the big heavy bikes.”

The witness later stated that the bright sunny weather did not interfere with him seeing the motorbike.

Mr Macdonald asked the witness about the car’s manner of driving on the lead up to the turning manoeuvre.

He replied: “He was just driving quite badly and slow.”

CCTV of the incident was played to the court and Mr Macdonald warned members of the public gallery that it showed a figure being “flung from the bike.”

The footage also appeared to show the bike with a considerable amount of smoke billowing from it post collision.

A third witness also told the trial that his car was positioned behind the motorbike.

He claimed that he did not see the crash due to a bend in the road.

He said that he overheard who he thought was the driver say: “I couldn’t see because he sun was so bright straight into my eyes.”

Mr Macdonald asked for the witness’ recollection as to how the sun was.

He replied: “The sun was basically right behind me.

“It was strong – there weren’t any clouds – it was a blue sky.”

Sheriff David Taylor stated when convicting Hussain, of Oldham, Lancashire, that he believed that the Crown witnesses were “credible and reliable.”

The sheriff added: “You should have stopped your vehicle and gave way to Mr Paton.

“In your evidence, you said that you did not see the motorbike as the sun was bright.

“If the sun was so bright as to affect you, you should have taken the appropriate action to stop or avoid the turn then take the turn at a point where it was safe to do so. These are steps which you failed to take.”

Sentence was deferred pending background reports until next month and Hussain was disqualified from driving meantime.