‘Crash killer said he was sorry but his appeal makes me think it was for show’: Grieving husband hits out after jailed driver appeals sentence

A BEREAVED husband has accused his wife’s killer of dismissing his guilt after appealing against his sentence.

Driver David Shields was checking his mobile phone for 18 seconds before his pick-up truck slammed in to Yvonne Blackman’s car in Dumfries last year.

The 66-year-old grandmother was waiting in queuing traffic when she was hit, and was paralysed instantly.

Last month former soldier Shields was sentenced to five years behind bars and banned from driving for seven and a half years.

But he has now lodged an appeal against his sentence, prompting outcry from Yvonne’s grieving widower Ralph.

Shields previously told a court and Yvonne’s family he was ashamed of his actions and that he did not intend to injure anyone – claims which Ralph has now dismissed in light of the appeal.

Ralph, a retired HGV driver from Lockerbie, said: “This appeal just says to me that he does not accept his punishment really, and he doesn’t think he deserves this. He was crying in the court room, was all that just for show?

“He thinks his sentence has been too harsh, and that he doesn’t deserve to be in jail for five years.

“It wouldn’t even have been that – it would have been two and a half years before he was released.

“Two and a half years is nothing for what he did. I will never see my wife again, neither will our daughter or grandchildren.”

In court, footage was played of 34-year-old Shields, from Ayr, inside his cab reaching over to touch his mobile phone attached to the dashboard.

He was driving from Stoke to Kilmarnock. Despite one hand still on the steering wheel, Shields can be clearly seen not looking at the road for 18 seconds before he crashed in to Yvonne’s Toyota Yaris.

The tragedy happened on the A75 near Lockerbie at 8.30am on February 8, 2017.

The Sunday Post previously revealed how charity worker Yvonne’s family watched over her for two weeks in hospital before making the harrowing decision to switch off her life support machine.

They attended each court appearance related to the case, and were hoping to move on following Shields’ sentence, but the latest developments have only made things worse, Ralph said.

Ralph, who was married to Yvonne for 38 years, said: “This has opened everything up again for us.

“We thought it was all over after the sentencing, but now we have to go through all of this again and wait until the appeal is finished.

“That man murdered my wife, and said he was sorry. He obviously is not.

“Maybe it was just said in court to make him look better, and he didn’t mean any of it. He should be ashamed of himself and what he did.”

Shields, who had a previous conviction for speeding before the tragedy, wept in court as he was sentenced.

His lawyer Euan Cameron said he could not comment on his client’s case as he did not have permission to discuss it.