Lewis Budge, 22, pushed Robert Bromell with two hands causing him to lose his balance and stumble back on the Corran Esplanade in Oban, where he was hit by an ambulance
Lewis Budge has had his sentence reduced(Image: Mike Gibbons)
A man who killed a dad by pushing him into the path of an ambulance responding to an emergency call has had his jail sentence reduced.
Lewis Budge, 22, shoved Robert Bromell with two hands causing him to lose his balance and stumble back on the Corran Esplanade in Oban on September 6, 2023.
The men had each been out separately with other people at the Markie Dans bar, before later talking outside after leaving the pub.
Mr Bromell, 39, was hit by the ambulance and was so severely injured that he died the following day at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, Renfrewshire.
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The ambulance had its blue lights on but was not using its sirens. Budge and Mr Bromell could not see the vehicle because of parked cars.
Mr Bromell was first taken to The Lorne and Islands Hospital in Oban, before he was transferred to the Royal Alexandria Hospital, in Paisley, where he passed away.
Budge was jailed for six years in February after admitting culpable homicide at the High Court in Glasgow. The sentencing judge, Lord Arthurson, told him at the time: “Only a significant custodial disposal is appropriate in this case.”
McConnachie KC, representing Budge, said the defendant was “deeply remorseful” about what happened and recognised its impact on Mr Bromell’s family.
He said: “This is a case in which the level of violence was, considering what we see in these courts, relatively slight, it’s not even a punch, certainly there’s no weapon used, but the consequences were catastrophic.”
He added: “This was not a premediated act but it was a reckless one.” Mr McConnachie said Budge has been assessed as being at a “minimum” risk of reoffending.
Lawyers acting for Budge, who was 20 at the time of the offence, challenged the jail sentence imposed on him, arguing that it was excessive during a hearing at the criminal appeal court in Edinburgh.
Defence counsel Mr McConnachie KC argued that the level of violence involved was at the very lower end of the scale.
A background report prepared on Budge also assessed him as posing a minimum risk of reoffending and highlighted he has shown a high level of remorse, the appeal judges heard. He could not have seen the approaching ambulance at the time.
Lady Wise, who heard the appeal with Lord Matthews, said they would allow the appeal and quash the original sentence. A four-year sentence was imposed.
