Pensioner found to have killed woman in Bearsden crash appeals

Janette Henry, 67, was behind the wheel of her Range Rover when she ploughed into a family walking to a restaurant in Bearsden for a festive meal.

Community worker Eleanor Ballantyne, 60, was killed and five relatives hurt as a result of the horrific smash on December 26, 2019. Henry told jurors she had no memory of the collision, claiming she had got out of her vehicle to a "scene from hell".

The mum faces a possible jail term when she returns to the dock for sentencing in the coming weeks.

The Court of Appeal in Edinburgh confirmed on Thursday Henry’s legal team have lodged papers to challenge her conviction of causing death by careless driving. 

Henry was found guilty of the crime after a trial at the High Court in Glasgow last December.

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The court heard claims she could have suffered a blackout at the wheel, similar to the driver in the Glasgow bin lorry tragedy eight years ago.

Janette Henry (Image: Supplied by Spindrift)

Eleanor's brother, Brian Ballantyne, 59, had told the trial how the family had got together for a traditional Boxing Day gathering at his home in Bearsden.

The group was walking on the pavement to a local restaurant when tragedy struck.

Brian - a company director - recalled seeing a car with "very bright" lights coming towards them and then a "terrible thud".

Henry's 4x4 had mounted the pavement, struck a wall, hit the group and then a parked Jaguar car. After checking on his family, Brian recalled Henry standing on the street.

Asked what she was like, he stated: "I will never forget her demeanour for the rest of my life.

"It was almost as if she had parked her car. Her behaviour was too normal."

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Eleanor's other brother Charles Ballantyne, 52, also spoke about the horror crash.

He told jurors: "I remember watching the car and trying to process why it was not slowing down.

"I do not know if it was picking up pace, but it was not slowing down.

"I swung my wife around. The one thing I remember was the car was massive."

In the aftermath, he spotted his stricken sister among the injured.

Transport manager Charles said: "My wife was hysterical. I remember them shouting to get Eleanor, pointing out where she was.

"She was face down in a puddle - half on the pavement and half off."

Also asked about Henry afterward, the witness said: "She did not acknowledge us."

Eleanor, of Dundee, was left so badly hurt, she died in hospital days later.

Prosecutors stated Henry had failed to negotiate a bend and then travelled across the opposite lane.

She was said to have struck the wall and not stopped her vehicle before hitting the family.

Henry - who worked in human resources - told jurors she had been returning to Bearsden from Loch Lomond with relatives when the crash occurred.

As she neared home, the OAP recalled slowing down on a narrow road to pass parked cars and her next memory was airbags deploying in her 4x4.

Medical experts who gave evidence could not rule out Henry suffered a sudden loss of consciousness at the wheel.