A fatal accident inquiry has heard tributes to a nursery teacher who died after being struck by part of a lorry.

Chloe Morrison was hit by a steel beam of the vehicle’s extended stabiliser leg on the A82 near Drumnadrochit, south of Inverness, on 25 October 2019.

The 26-year-old had been walking along a pavement with her mother at the time.

Lorry driver John O’Donnell, 53, from Inverurie, was sentenced to 100 hours of unpaid work and banned from driving for 12 months in 2022. Ms Morrison’s family called for a review of the sentence.

A victim impact assessment provided by the family was read out at the beginning of the inquiry in Inverness.

It described her as an adored and very-much loved daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, cousin and friend to many.

The court heard from three witnesses, including lorry driver O’Donnell.

The inquiry focused on the vehicle’s worthiness, O’Donnell’s induction to work for his employer, and safety checks that are required to be carried out by drivers of vehicles with cranes fitted.

The inquiry adjourned to resume next month before Sheriff Ian Cruickshank delivers his determination at a later date.

O’Donnell, who denied causing Ms Morrison’s death, was sentenced at the High Court in Stirling.

His earlier trial at the High Court in Inverness heard he had driven his lorry from Oldmeldrum in Aberdeenshire to Skye on 24 October 2019.

He stayed overnight and said he had dropped stabilising legs on the lorry the following day because of gales – although he was not trained to do so – before setting off on his return journey.

O’Donnell insisted he did not extend or touch the controls of the stabilisers’ outrigger beams.

But CCTV showed the nearside outrigger’s yellow warning sign, indicating it was unlocked, when he filled up with diesel at a filling station on Skye.

A passenger in a car travelling in the opposite direction also saw the outrigger swing out seconds before reaching the collision scene.

The court heard Ms Morrison died from multiple fractures.