A lorry driver who caused the deaths of horses in a horrific crash on the Perthshire A9 has been banned from the roads and given unpaid work as an alternative to prison.

Justin Bower ploughed through a makeshift warning sign before he hit a broken-down horse transporter on the A9 between Auchterarder and Perth on August 24 2021.

The crash left four horses dead – including the £1million, nine-year-old stallion Party Trick – and Bower’s passenger with devastating injuries.

Bower, of Rhyl in Denbighshire, Wales, was found guilty by a unanimous jury of causing serious injury to passenger and co-driver Ashley Vandervis by driving his 7.5-tonne Mercedes lorry dangerously.

He returned to Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on Thursday for sentencing.

Justin Bower caused the crash on the A9. Image: DC Thomson.

Sheriff Robert More imposed 220 hours of unpaid work and banned Bower from driving for two years and until he sits an extended test.

He said a six-to-11-month prison sentence would have been appropriate but for the presumption against jail terms of less than a year, where alternatives are available.

He noted Bower has already spent 14 days in custody on remand in relation to the proceedings.

Crash described

The trial heard Mr Vandervis, 47, had to be freed from the wreckage and suffered fractured vertebrae, broken ribs, wrist, ankles and leg.

He told the trial he had no memory of the collision and could not recall being in the lorry at all that day.

Giving evidence, Bower said he was “distracted” by a car in the fast lane which had been trying to pass him for three or four minutes.

He had seen the horse transporter in the distance but believed it was still moving on the road, struggling to get up the Cairnie Braes hill.

He said when the car to his right moved on, he indicated to overtake the transporter and Mr Vandervis shouted “move, move, move” but it was too late to brake and avoid the collision.

He said he did not see an improvised warning on the road, people shouting or waving at the side, or any hazard lights on the horsebox.

Traumatic loss recognised

During sentencing, the sheriff said the court places on record its deepest sympathy for all of those associated with the traumatic events and “hurt and loss suffered”.

Party Trick’s owner, Nicholas Gauntlett, had told the trial he climbed into the horse box after witnessing the horrific smash from the roadside.

He said: “I needed to be with them.

“I watched him die; I watched his eyes close.

“You might think it was only a horse, but it was my life”.

He had been on his way to the Blair Horse Trials in Highland Perthshire at the time.

He said the horse was worth “in excess of £1 million”.

Nick Gauntlett gave evidence at the trial.

The 47-year-old rider and coach said he pulled over when a problem developed with the transporter.

He filled a horse bucket with stones, tied a high visibility jacket to the handle and placed it about 100 yards along the road as a makeshift warning to oncoming motorists.

The horsebox was partly protruding into the inside lane and he was standing with others on the verge.

Bower’s lorry struck the improvised warning bucket, swerved right and hit the horse box, throwing it onto its side.

Mr Gauntlett’s wife, Amanda, 49, told the trial she believed she had seen Bower using a “phone or device” shortly before the crash

Bower strongly denied this and an element of the charge, which alleged he had been driving while holding and using a mobile phone and steering the vehicle with his elbows, was deleted by jurors.

Unable to drive

In mitigation, defence lawyer Pauline Cullerton said her client accepted his driving had been careless but denied it was dangerous, although he accepts the jury’s finding.

The solicitor said Bower is “extremely remorseful” for the injuries caused to Mr Vandervis.

Ms Cullerton said Bower has also suffered as a result and has been diagnosed with PTSD and has flashbacks.

Justin Bower.

She said Bower advised he has tried driving once since the accident but could not do so and has not driven since.

The lawyer also lodged a letter and an email with the court from close friends of her client in support of his character.

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