David Livingstone had planned to take his own life having been dumped by his long-term partner.
The callous 44 year-old played an online yes/no game shortly before the fatal collision to decide his fate.
Livingstone was then in his work’s Ford Transit van when he smashed into the single-decker Stagecoach bus driven by Gordon Stirling.
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The 23 year-old never survived while two passengers were hurt following the crash on A77 near Fenwick, Ayrshire on August 14 2023.
Livingstone was also badly injured and appeared for his trial at the High Court in Glasgow still in a wheelchair.
He denied intending to commit suicide claiming he had no memory of the collision.
But, jurors today/yesterday found him guilty of murder.
A judge described it as the “most selfish” killing he had seen during his decades in the courts.
Members of Gordon’s emotional family were in court for the verdict.
They attended with his ashes in an urn kept inside in a rucksack that once belonged to him.
The family all wore purple T-shirts which had been Gordon’s favourite colour.
They will see the minimum Livingstone will spend behind bars when he returns to the dock next month.
The trial heard how Livingstone’s partner Michelle had ended their relationship of more than 20 years days before the crash.
The couple’s son Devlin Livingstone told the court his father was “as strong as he could be” immediately following the split, but had been “shocked” by what happened.
The killer had been working in Millport on a construction site on the day of the murder.
The fatal crash occurred around 5.30pm as he was apparently returning to his home in Stewarton, Ayrshire.
Around 10 minutes before this he sent “love you” messages to his son and eldest daughter Jada Hanvey.
Jada said her father “did not usually” say something like that by text.
Devlin meantime told the court he had been “worried” when he received it.
He added: “From my experience, texts like that usually leads to someone doing something bad. I did not know what he was up to or what he was doing.”
Livingstone eventually ended up driving his van head on into Gordon’s bus on the A77.
Jurors heard of the “carnage” in the aftermath.
CCTV footage of inside the bus showed Gordon stricken on the floor of the coach before mercy crews arrived.
One witness at the scene told how he comforted the young man by holding his hand.
Gordon, of Crosshouse, also Ayrshire, never recovered and passed away in hospital.
Livingstone meantime also suffered multiple broken bones.
He was visited in hospital by his now ex and her mother following the incident.
It was there Livingstone was said to have confessed that he “deliberately” drove his van into the bus.
The court was told he added that they were not to “tell anybody” as he would “get into trouble”.
Livingstone gave evidence during the trial.
He recalled how he had been dumped by text days before the murder. Livingstone tried unsuccessfully to get her to return to the family home.
But, he repeatedly denied in his testimony that he had felt suicidal.
Livingstone claimed to have little memory of his journey after getting off the ferry from Millport.
His KC Ian Duguid asked him about the comment he made while in his hospital bed.
The advocate: “Would that have been true that you deliberately drove into the bus?”
Livingstone: “Absolutely not.”
He also refuted a suggestion that he had once spoken about taking his own life by driving into the path of a bus or a lorry.
The jury heard how Livingstone had been on a site called “Wheel Decide” on the day of the crime.
He described it as “a game for me, guessing yes or no”.
Mr Duguid put to him: “Are you thinking: ‘Will I commit suicide or will I not?’.
“Are you accessing ‘Wheel Decide’ to invite it to make a decision for you?”
Livingstone: “Absolutely not. I do not imagine anyone suicidal would do that.”
Prosecutor Mark Mohammed KC later suggested to Livingstone he had been “waiting for a bus to come the other way”.
He again denied this.
Mr Mohammed: “You are very definitive for a man who cannot remember being there.”
Livingstone: “I do not remember, but I do not believe I was waiting for a bus.”
It emerged after the verdict that Livingstone had previously been jailed for drug trafficking.
Lord Mulholland deferred sentencing until October 29 in Stirling.
The judge told Livingstone: “I have been in the courts for 40 years and this is most selfish murder I have ever encountered.
“It is tragic that you wanted to take your own life, but you took someone else’s life.
“A young man with everything in front of him, loved by family and friends, who sat beside him for days as his life slipped away with the injuries that you inflicted on him.
“It is selfish in the extreme and you will pay a heavy price for that.”
