A SPEEDING driver who was on a phone call at the time mowed down a man he claimed had "jumped" out in front of him.

John Paul Smith, 42, was behind the wheel of his Mercedes C220 when he hit Christopher Devine as he tried to cross the A82 at Great Western Road near Duntocher.

The 34 year-old suffered fatal injuries following the horror collision on November 23, 2020.

Smith pleaded guilty at the High Court in Glasgow on December 20 to a charge of causing death by careless driving.

The accounts manager found to have more than 10 times the prescribed limit of a drug called benzoylecgonine - a "metabolite from cocaine usage" - following a blood test.

But a judge was told that prosecutors had accepted this "played no part" in what happened.

Smith, of Dumbarton, will be sentenced in the New Year.

Mr Devine had been walking from a friend's house towards the A82 at around 5pm that dark, wet evening.

He initially crossed two lanes and narrowly avoided being hit by one vehicle.

As he then attempted to continue crossing, he was struck by Smith.

Prosecutor Gavin Anderson KC said: "At the time, Smith was engaged in a 'hands free' Bluetooth telephone call with an insurance company."

The court heard Smith's passenger had spotted Mr Devine trying to cross, and attempted to alert the driver, but was unable to do so in time.

Members of the public - including an off-duty police officer - stopped to help Mr Devine.

But Mr Anderson said the victim, of Clydebank, suffered a fatal head injury.

Smith, the court heard, was quizzed at the scene about what had happened.

He said: "Please tell me you seen that? He seen me coming and waited (to the) last minute to jump.

"If I seen he was trying to cross the road, I would have slowed down."

After Smith was later tested, forensic examination went on to reveal 507mg of the cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine per litre of blood.

The indictment states the prescribed limit is 50mg.

Mr Anderson continued: "The lack of any signs of impairment would be consistent with toxicology findings.

"Benzoylecgonine is an inert by-product of cocaine use and would not have had an effect on Smith's demeanour."

However, police collision investigators concluded Smith had been travelling at an average speed of 71mph in a 50mph zone.

It was said Smith also had a five-second window to react to seeing Mr Devine - although this could have been impacted by the rain or glaring lights.

It emerged Smith already had previous convictions for careless driving and speeding.

Brian McConnachie KC, defending, said: "I have not been able to find another prosecution (like this) in Scotland. I have found a few in England.

"It is unusual...in that it is an offence of being over the limit of a prescribed drug despite the fact it effectively played no part (in what happened)."

Lord Mulholland deferred sentencing for reports; Smith's bail was continued.