Speeding driver who killed young father while running late for work jailed

A speeding driver who killed a young father has been jailed for almost four years.

Evan Davis, 22, hit Stephen McGovern while running for late for a shift on July 4, 2023.

The 21-year-old cafe worker – who may have been crossing for a bus at the time – did not survive the collision on Calder Road, Edinburgh.

Davis was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow on Friday.

He had earlier admitted at a hearing to causing Mr McGovern’s death by dangerous driving.

Lord Arthurson sentenced Davis – who was emotional as he sat in the dock – to three years and nine months in jail.

He cut the term from five years due to the guilty plea.

The judge referred to Davis’s comment he made to police after the collision: “How am I going to live with this?”

Directly addressing him about the comment, Lord Arthurson told Davis: “I would suggest that you approach the sentence of imprisonment constructively as you can.

“Remember at the conclusion you will one day walk out of prison and return to your family.

“Remember that Mr McGovern, due to your criminal behaviour, will never do so.

“Live your life well and, perhaps, undertake future voluntary work in memory of your victim.

“After all that, most importantly, continue to remember Stephen McGovern, his mother, siblings and, above all, his young son.”

The court previously heard how a van driver had been aware of Davis approaching at speed and then undertaking him and a grey Seat car.

The other motorist also noticed Mr McGovern jump over a fence in the central reservation.

Prosecutor David Dickson then explained: “Davis continued in the nearside lane as the grey Seat began to slow down, the driver of that car being aware of Mr McGovern.

“Mr McGovern was observed to run into the road, hesitate and was then struck by the front offside wing of Davis’s car.”

“Mr McGovern was thrown into the air and, on colliding with the road, would have died.”

The young dad, of Edinburgh, sustained head, chest and neck injuries.

Mr Dickson said: “While it is not known, it may be Mr McGovern observed a line of traffic, ran out in front of it thinking there were no cars in the nearside lane and that he would be able to cross the road.”

The advocate depute said calculations showed that Davis would have to have been driving at no more than 36 mph to avoid a collision with Mr McGovern if he saw him when he first stepped onto the road.

He had increased the speed of his Toyota Auris from 53 mph to more than 62 mph in the four seconds before hitting Mr McGovern.

A visibly distressed Davis, of Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, got out his vehicle after the incident and called the emergency services.

John Scullion KC, defending, said the incident remains “the first thing he thinks about in the morning” and continues in his thoughts the rest of a day.

The advocate said: “He is troubled by nightmares and flashbacks. He has considerable empathy for the ongoing pain and suffering (of Mr McGovern’s family).”

Davis was also banned from the road for five years after his release.

Sentencing, Lord Arthurson further told him: “You were driving to Aberdeen in connection with your work and were behind schedule.

“You failed to observe your victim, who was a pedestrian.

“You were in a hurry, you were running late. Your time was more important to you than the welfare of fellow road users.

“As a result, you killed Mr McGovern. You now have to live with that.”

After his death, Mr McGovern was described online by those who knew him as “a lovely soul” who “lit up the room every time he walked into one”.