TikTok creator 'killed pensioner and injured child in crash after speeding'

A TikTok creator has gone on trial accused of killing a pensioner and injuring a boy in a crash in North Lanarkshire.

Leigh Sutherland, 31, is said to have been behind the wheel of a Ford Mondeo which hit a Peugeot 108 driven by 77-year-old Margaret Allan on June 15, 2023.

Prosecutors said the woman was left so severely hurt that she died around a month later.

The child, who was a passenger in Ms Allan’s car, was also injured in the crash at the Condorrat Ring Road at its junction with Lomond Drive near Cumbernauld.

Sutherland denies a charge of causing death by dangerous driving at his trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

A police officer told the court that he had been in the area that day when he became aware of a collision in his rearview mirror.

He drove back and initially found the Peugeot “extremely damaged”.

The officer said the elderly female driver had blood on her head while appearing “confused and dazed”. The child was in the passenger seat.

After calling for emergency services, he said a member of the public then made him aware that the driver of the Mondeo was walking away.

The officer caught up with him and grabbed his arm. The driver said he wanted to go for a walk for ten minutes, given what happened, but was told he had to return to the crash site.

The officer recalled him being “agitated” and mentioning how he was “studying defence law”.

He also claimed the Mondeo driver was abusive to him.

He told the court: “He constantly called me a f***ing idiot.”

The constable said he warned him two to three times to stop.

The police officer confirmed to the court that he had recognised the driver and was aware that he was well known on TikTok. He added that he was aware that Sutherland was known for pretending he was a lawyer.

The charge features a number of claims, including Sutherland driving that day at “grossly excessive speed”.

It is also alleged that he did not keep a proper lookout on the road, resulting in him hitting Ms Allan’s car.

Sutherland faces a separate charge, which states he was given bail by a sheriff on June 23, 2023.

A condition was that he did not make “any reference on any social media” to the crash or those involved.

But, it is claimed that on March 14, 2024, he mentioned the incident “on a video posted on TikTok”.

The trial, before Judge Tom Hughes, continues.