A WEE COUNTY trucker who whose careless driving caused the death of a mother-of-four, is facing jail.

Ian Moorhouse, 63, pulled out from a queue of traffic at nearly 25 miles an hour in a bid to make a right turn into a side road.

Because he failed to slow, stop, or drop back, his view ahead was blocked by a tractor and trailer in front of him, and an oncoming silver VW Golf driven by his victim, Amanda Boag, was completely obscured.

Mrs Boag, 39, desperately swerved left but was unable to avoid being struck by Moorhouse's 16-tonne lorry.

Other motorists who rushed to her aid found her trapped and unresponsive in the wreckage.

An air ambulance was scrambled but Mrs Boag, who had "catastrophic" injuries, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Falkirk Sheriff Court heard that dashcam footage showed Moorhouse – who was driving eastbound on the A811 road near Arnprior, Stirlingshire – "looking relaxed" with the radio on in the background, before making the turn towards the village of Kippen, where he was due to make his second to last delivery of the day.

The indicators of his Grangemouth-based Flogas lorry can be heard clicking, and Mrs Boag's oncoming car can be seen for only a split second before a deafening collision sends it careering into the mouth of the sideroad and onto the left hand verge, debris "flying across the carriageway".

Moorhouse later told police: "I started to pull over and saw the car at the same time as the collision. I can't remember anything else."

Prosecutor Ian MacDonald said a careful driver making the manoeuvre would have slowed to created a gap in front of him and a "good sight-line" of the road ahead.

Moorhouse failed to do so, meaning Mrs Boag's car was "completely obscured".

Mr MacDonald said: "The accused, who was travelling at around 24 miles an hour, without reducing his speed, stopping, or taking any apparent steps to ensure there were no oncoming vehicles, turned across the oncoming westbound carriageway.

"He was unable to see Mrs Boag's oncoming vehicle, and then failed to give way to it before entering the opposing carriageway.

"By the time he saw the car, he was midway across the opposing carriageway, and it was too late for either him or Amanda Boag to avoid the inevitable.

"In the moments before the collision, Amanada Boag saw the gas tanker enter her lane and sought to avoid it by steering to the nearside, but there was insufficient time for her to have done anything to avoid the collision."

The court heard that Mrs Boag had left her home in nearby Buchlyvie about 8.15am that day, February 25, 2020, to travel to work at the Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire, where she was a housekeeper.

In a tragic twist, it turned out she was not rostered to work after all, so was returning home around three hours later, having stopped briefly in Stirling, when the accident happened.

Mr MacDonald said the tragedy had "a significant impact" on Mrs Boag's husband Stephen, and their four children, now aged 19, 17, 16 and 12.

Collision investigators concluded there could be "no criticism, at all" of the manner of Mrs Boag's driving.

Moorhouse, of Clackmannan, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving.

Sheriff Simon Collins QC deferred sentence until March 9 for background reports and mitigation, and legal submissions on whether Moorhouse's level of carelessness was such that a prison sentence should be considered.

The court heard he had a previous conviction from 2013 – for using a mobile phone while driving.

Moorhouse was disqualified with immediate effect, and bail was continued.

Leaving court, he refused to comment to a reporter.