The letting agent and investor in allAgents convicted of killing a pensioner when he ran over her and her companion at a pedestrian crossing, is said to be maintaining his innocence.

Vincent Friel’s defence, that he fainted at the wheel of his Range Rover, was rejected by a jury in Edinburgh, and the judge warned him that a custodial sentence – to be passed later this month – will be inevitable.

Director of letting at Glasgow firm 1-2-Let, Lesley McLaughlin, told EYE: “The accident has greatly affected Mr Friel, who maintains his innocence, as he tries to come to terms with the outcome of his trial.”

She asked us to publish her comments, as follows:

“This life changing event was a tragic and devastating accident for everyone involved and on behalf of the team at 1-2-Let, our thoughts go out for both Vincent and the families of Charlotte Collins and Margaret Haldane.

It is worth mentioning that there are some key facts in the case, which are not well known, and I feel are quite important to the reader’s understanding of events:

• There were two additional cardiologists (Dr Stuart Hood and Dr Adrian Brady) who had both examined Mr Friel and who had both watched the CCTV footage mentioned – the evidence that these consultant cardiologists provided, was that they believed a blackout was ‘possible’ and ‘likely’.
• The vehicle (Range Rover with automatic transmission) which Mr Friel was driving at the time of the accident, was travelling at an average speed of 4mph. It was accepted by the Crown, during the trial that the vehicle had moved forward by itself due to Mr Friel’s foot coming off the brake.
• Mr Friel has never suffered from a blackout before. He subsequently, disclosed his blackout to the DVLA, who carried out an investigation before reinstating his licence
• On a separate but equally important note; there are currently two high profile cases in the local media, relating to separate accidents of drivers who had ‘blacked out’ at the wheels of their vehicles. The families of the victims in these cases, are trying to take out private prosecutions against the drivers, as it was later found out that both drivers had failed to disclose previous blackouts to the relevant authorities http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/glasgow-bin-lorry-crash-private-7254760#U7ZpL3mju51euTix.97

One can’t help but wonder what the outcome of Mr Friel’s case would have been had these cases not been so prominent in the public domain.

The accident has greatly affected Mr Friel, who maintains his innocence, as he tries to come to terms with the outcome of his trial.”

Allagents operates out of Friel’s business centre in Glasgow and he has previously announced making a substantial investment in the agency reviews business.