Killer who pushed man in front of ambulance on 999 call jailed

A man who killed another man by pushing him in front of an ambulance which was rushing to an emergency call has been jailed for six years.

Lewis Budge, 22, attacked Robert Bromell, 39, at the Corran Esplanade in Oban, Argyll and Bute, on 6 September 2023.

The pair had left a pub with others not long before the incident. Bromell suffered fatal injuries after the ambulance hit him in the head.

Budge initially lied that Bromell had "stumbled" in front of the vehicle, but CCTV footage captured the victim being pushed. Budge later pled guilty to culpable homicide.

Lord Arthurson said: "You deliberately pushed your victim using both hands onto the road into the path of the ambulance.

"Your subsequent conduct of walking away and putting the responsibility onto Mr Bromell for what happened and, apparently doing nothing until you were identified as the perpetrator, are all factors that weigh unfavourably against you.

"Mr Bromell's sons and family will be forever deprived of his rightful place in their lives.

"You should understand the terrible consequences of the crime against him are generational in nature and no punishment could ever remedy that awful, dismal truth."

The men had each been out separately with others at the Markie Dans bar in Oban on the night of the attack.

The court had heard last month that there were "mutual acquaintances between the groups.

They all left the pub when it closed at 01:00 and began to make their way towards the town centre.

Prosecutor David McLean KC had said Budge and Bromell were seen chatting to each other at one point.

Meanwhile, an ambulance was travelling to an emergency in Dunollie, north of the town, with its blue lights on.

The hearing had been told a parked pop-top caravan meant the two men could not see what was on the road as they walked along part of the esplanade.

"As the ambulance approached, Budge deliberately pushed Mr Bromell on the top half of the front of his body using two hands," McLean had said.

"It had sufficient force to cause him to lose balance. Budge gave no thought to the surrounding circumstances."

Bromell tried to break his fall, but ended up being hit on the head by the ambulance.

The paramedic driving the vehicle tried to avoid him as he fell, then the ambulance stopped and the crew immediately raced out to help.

Bromell was initially rushed to hospital in Oban and then transferred to the Royal Alexandra in Paisley.

He suffered multiple injuries and died that afternoon.

After making his plea, it emerged that Budge was previously convicted of domestic abuse.