A lorry driver who killed a heavily pregnant nurse and her unborn baby in a horrific motorway crash after she had pulled onto the hard shoulder has been jailed.
Trevor Norgate, 58, was driving an HGV when it veered off the motorway near Hermiston Gait, Edinburgh, and into the hard shoulder where Evelyn Brown, 41, had stopped her car.
Norgate claimed to have been 'momentarily distracted' for up to eight seconds before ploughing into Ms Brown's parked Kia Sorento just days before Christmas, on December 18, 2023.
The mother-of-two, who was 34 weeks pregnant at the time, died from her unsurvivable injuries, along with her unborn baby.
Norgate - who already had six points on his licence for using a mobile phone at the wheel - pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving on March 27.
Sentencing Norgate at the High Court in Edinburgh on Friday, judge Lord Armstrong told him that as a result of his actions, 'two lives have been lost' and the lives of Ms Brown's close relatives had been 'materially impacted in significantly detrimental ways'.
He added: 'The fact remains this is a very serious matter.
'No sentence I can impose can in any sense be a measure of the value of the lives that have been lost, nor provide a comfort to the family whose own lives have been devastated as a result.
Evelyn Brown, 41, had two young girls aged three and four and was heavily pregnant with her third child, who also did not survive
Trevor Norgate, 58, was behind the wheel of his HGV when it drifted onto the hard shoulder. Pictured: At an earlier court hearing
'I have read and take into account victim impact statements by Ms Brown's mother and stepsister, which are eloquent in their terms, explaining the extent of their tragic loss and their difficulties in coming to terms with it.
'As the result of your actions, their lives have been changed radically for the worse.'
He acknowledged the fact Norgate had 'accepted responsibility' for his actions at an early stage, and that it was he who called 999 following the incident.
However he said he had 'no alternative' but to impose a prison term, and sentenced him to two years and eight months in prison.
He also disqualified Norgate from driving for four years and eight months, and said he would have to complete an extended driving test before being allowed to drive again.
Norgate, dressed in a blue fleece and purple tracksuit bottoms, showed no emotion as the sentence was handed down.
Norgate's lawyer David Nicolson KC said his client was 'utterly devastated' by what happened, and that he will 'never, ever get over what he did on this particular morning'.
He added his client had watched footage of the incident but remains 'absolutely at a loss' as to how he become 'distracted' for the seven or eight seconds it took for the lorry to collide with Ms Brown's car.
Ms Brown worked as an agency nurse for a company called Medline and had not long finished a 12-hour shift at East Lothian Community Hospital in Haddington (pictured) when tragedy struck that morning
An earlier hearing heard howMs Brown was born in Nigeria and moved to the UK in 2015.
Ms Brown worked as an agency nurse for a company called Medline and had not long finished a 12-hour shift at East Lothian Community Hospital in Haddington when tragedy struck that morning.
The court heard Ms Brown, who had two young girls aged three and four, had texted her sister to say she was on her way home.
Norgate meantime was driving his haulage firm HGV, having started work at 4am that day.
He had 'complied with rest requirements' while behind the wheel of his lorry.
The court was shown harrowing footage of the collision, which began with Ms Brown's stationary car on the hard shoulder with its lights on.
The court was told: 'The HGV began to veer from the lane onto the hard shoulder.
'The vehicle drifted over a period of between seven to eight seconds with no corrective action being taken or braking to alter the course of travel.
'The lorry travelled on the hard shoulder for approximately 88.5 metres until the point of impact with the rear of Evelyn Brown vehicle.
'It is noted there is no sound or exclamation within the cab (of the lorry) immediately before impact confirming Norgate, at that time, did not have his eyes on the road.'
Fire crews cut her out of the wrecked car before paramedics attempted to revive her, but she had suffered fatal neck and chest injuries and she and her baby died at the scene.
