A TEENAGER whose careless driving caused the deaths of three school friends cried as he confessed to his father about his role in the tragic incident, a court has heard.

Robbie Gemmell, 17, originally told police officers that he was a front seat passenger in a Peugeot 206 that crashed on Limetree Walk, near Tyninghame, last November.

The horrific smash – which took place when Gemmell was still 16 – claimed the lives of Dunbar Grammar School pupils David Armstrong, 15, and 16-year-old Joshua Stewart, as well as ex-pupil Jenna Barbour, 18.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard on Tuesday how the quartet were travelling in the car when it struck a large wall support on the road.

The court heard how accident investigators reckoned the Peugeot was travelling at a minimum of 50 to 54 miles per hour just before the collision.

Gemmell originally told officers that Miss Barbour had been driving.

Prosecution lawyer Graeme Jessop said that Gemmell – who was in hospital recovering from his injuries at the time of his confession – told his dad that he had been the driver.

Mr Jessop added: “The accused became upset and started to cry.

“His father, Mark Gemmell, asked him if he had something to say and he said: ‘Dad, I was driving the car.’ “He told his father that he drove down the road, he didn’t specify how far or for how long, but that he thought that he was doing around 45mph.

“He remembers being on the road but Jenna having to grab the wheel to straighten them up. Robbie remembers pulling the steering wheel back the opposite direction from Jenna and then they suddenly struck a wall.

“When he had finished his account, his father said that he would speak to the police about it and that Robbie Gemmell would have to tell them everything he had just told them.” The sad story emerged after Gemmell, of Wilson Place, Dunbar, pleaded guilty before Sheriff Gordon Liddle to causing the deaths of David Armstrong, Jenna Barbour and Joshua Stewart on November 25, 2013, by driving a car without due care and attention at Limetree Walk.

After hearing the circumstances, Sheriff Liddle extended his sympathy to everybody who had been involved.

Deferring sentence for reports, he added: “I do not want to deal with this case, but it is my duty.” Gemmell – who has no previous convictions – wept uncontrollably as Mr Jessop read the circumstances. Members of Gemmell’s family and relatives of the deceased also wept.

Mr Jessop said that, at some point in the evening, Gemmell took over driving from Miss Barbour.

The court heard that at 8.15pm, Gemmell made a 999 call to ambulance control.

Mr Jessop said: “Due to the caller being in a distressed and disorientated state, it took between 15 and 20 minutes to establish the caller’s exact location. This caused difficulties and delay in the emergency services tracing the whereabouts of the collision.

“A transcript of the emergency call highlights the distressed state of the accused as he did everything he was asked to do by the emergency call handler in a futile attempt to provide assistance to the injured passengers.” Emergency services arrived at about 8.55pm and it became quickly apparent that the other three in the vehicle had died.

Mr Jessop added: “At that time, Gemmell stated to a police officer and paramedics that he was the front seat passenger.

“About 11.50pm, police officers attended at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, where they spoke briefly with Gemmell.

“He claimed that the girl – Jenna Barbour – was driving at the time of the collision.” “At around 1am on Tuesday, November 26, 2013, the undertakers arrived at the locus and it was decided that Jenna Barbour’s body would be removed first.

“At this time, it was observed that she had injuries to the left side of her body and head which would be consistent to her possibly sitting in the passenger seat.

“At this time a more detailed search was carried out of the Peugeot motor car which revealed Jenna Barbour’s boots jammed within the front passenger foot well of the car, while one of the accused’s shoes was found jammed in the driver’s foot well.” Defence solicitor advocate John Scott QC described the incident as an “unspeakable tragedy”.

However, he said he would reserve his mitigation for his client’s sentencing hearing.

Gemmell will be sentenced on September 19 at 2pm at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

Inspector Richard Latto, of the local Divisional Road Policing Unit and who was the senior investigating officer in the case, said: “This tragic incident reinforces the extensive risks of an inexperienced person not legally old enough to possess a driving licence getting behind the wheel.”