A LORRY driver from Greenock who killed a pensioner by crashing into his broken down car has been spared jail.

Andrew Dominick ploughed into the back of Archibald Graham’s Range Rover – which had run out of petrol – in May last year.

Dominick, who works for haulage and logistics firm Malcolm’s as an HGV driver, smashed into the back of Graham’s car on the A737, just outside Paisley, on May 7, 2013.

Paisley Sheriff Court earlier heard that Dominick had left his firm’s yard in the Renfrewshire town of Linwood at about 5.30am.

He failed to spot Mr Graham’s vehicle, which was resting at the side of the road with part of the vehicle mounted on a grass verge.

Amanda Gallagher, prosecuting, told the court that Mr Graham’s car had ran out of fuel.

Mr Graham had failed to put his hazard lights on after breaking down and he remained in his vehicle. A phone call to his son, who was not named in court, was cut short as 64-year-old Dominick crashed into the back of his car.

The crash left Mr Graham trapped in the vehicle with extensive injuries.

The emergency services were called and Mr Graham was rushed to Royal Alexandra Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Police investigating the crash ruled that “the majority of the blame” lay with Dominick and he was arrested and charged over the incident. When he appeared in the dock last month he admitted causing Mr Graham’s death by driving without due care or attention and crashing into Graham’s car after failing to notice it at the side of the road.

Lindsay MacNeil, defending, told the court that condensation could be seen on the windscreen of Dominick’s vehicle in footage shot from a CCTV camera mounted to the dashboard of his lorry.

But she said it did not impair his view of the road because the condensation was “around the edges of the window.” She added: “The vast majority of the car was on the carriageway – that’s why there was such an impact between Mr Dominick’s vehicle and Mr Graham’s.” She also said that Dominick wanted to express his remorse and condolences to Mr Graham’s family for this accident.

Sheriff Seith Ireland called for a report and deferred sentence on Dominick, of Nelson Street, until yesterday.

Yesterday he told him to carry out 170 hours’ unpaid work and banned him from driving for two years.