A teenager has admitted causing the death of a bus driver in an assault that saw him headbutting and “raining punches” onto his victim.
Keith Rollinson, 58, died of cardiac arrest following the assault in Elgin bus station on February 2 2024.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard on Friday that the attack began at about 10.30pm after Mr Rollinson refused to allow the teenager onto his bus due to his “noticeably intoxicated” condition.
The 16-year-old, who was 15 at the time of the incident and cannot be named for legal reasons, had spent the evening drinking with other youths in Elgin town centre, and had gone to the bus station on St Giles Road with the intention of catching the last bus home.
The court heard that he argued with the bus driver and apparently began filming him on his phone and that, when the driver grabbed the phone, the teenager headbutted him, before “raining punches” on Mr Rollinson’s head and body.
After initially appearing to be unharmed, Mr Rollinson collapsed after bending down to pick up his cap from the ground.
He was taken to Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin but never regained consciousness, and was pronounced life extinct at 12.45am on February 3.
The teenager was quickly traced by police and was initially charged with murder, but later pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of culpable homicide.
Advocate depute John Keenan KC told the court: “The accused attempted to board the bus but was refused travel due to his intoxication.
“The accused was agitated and upset by this and argued with the deceased, telling him it was illegal to refuse travel to someone under 16 and he had no other way to get home.
“The deceased turned off the engine of the bus, told other passengers he was not moving until the accused got off the bus, and made his way on to the concourse.”
He explained the 15-year-old continued to argue with him, and “pointed his phone in the deceased’s face, apparently filming him”.
He continued: “The deceased grabbed the phone, which then led to a physical struggle during which the accused headbutted the deceased.
“The struggle continued and the deceased threw the phone to the ground before stamping on it several times.
“At this, the accused completely lost control, raining punches on the deceased’s head and body. The deceased did not retaliate but tried to get away from the accused.”
Mr Keenan added: “The deceased appeared initially to be fine but, shortly after bending over to pick up his cap, collapsed to the ground unconscious.”
He told the court that a post-mortem examination found that Mr Rollinson had a pre-existing heart condition and was “at risk of a sudden fatal cardiac event at any time”.
He continued: “Most likely the physical altercation as a whole led to increased blood pressure, cardiac arrythmia (irregular heartbeat) followed by cardiac arrest.”
He added: “Given the close temporal relationship between the assault and collapse, the events appear linked and, had it not been for the assault, he may not have died when he did.”
He also told the court the teenager had a number of previous offences, and that he had been subject to a supervision order for a previous assault on a bus driver that ended just weeks before the assault on February 2.
Members of Mr Rollinson’s family who were present at the hearing left while the court was shown footage of the incident, which had been captured on CCTV cameras at the bus station.
Shelagh McCall KC, representing the teenager, indicated to the court that a report would need to be drawn up before her client could be sentenced.
She added: “I propose to reserve any mitigation until a report is available.”
Judge Lady Hood told the teenager that since his guilty plea had been accepted by the crown, “I formally convict you in terms of that plea”.
She added: “You will require reports before proceeding to sentence. Therefore I am going to call for a criminal justice social work report.”
She said a sentencing hearing would take place at Inverness High Court on November 18 2024.
The teenager, dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, showed no reaction as he was led from the courtroom.
Detective Inspector Andrew Wilson said: “Mr Rollinson’s death was a tragedy which affected a number of people across Elgin and the wider Moray area. The thoughts of the entire policing team remain with his family, friends and colleagues who have suffered a devastating loss.
“No one should expect to be the subject of violence while simply going about their job and today justice has been delivered with the conviction of the person responsible for this senseless act.
“While no outcome can undo what happened, I hope this guilty plea brings some measure of comfort to Keith’s family, friends, and colleagues.”
Chief Inspector Mike McKenzie, area commander for Moray, said: “Since Keith Rollinson’s death, we have been working closely with a range of partners to tackle youth disorder in Elgin, particularly around the bus station.
“This work will continue and are committed to working with partners to prevent and deter anti-social behaviour.”
