An 83-year-old motorist who caused a motorway pile-up by swerving at high speed onto the wrong side of the road has been disqualified for three years.
John Rennie has also been fined £1,500 after he admitted driving dangerously and causing a crash in which he and two other drivers were injured.
Fiscal depute David Currie told Perth Sheriff Court: “Witnesses were driving on the M90 near Craigend when they saw the accused’s car travelling in the opposite direction.
“They saw him swerve across the road and across the central reservation, directly into the outside lane of the opposing carriageway.
“The driver of the car in the outside lane was overtaking a slower moving lorry.
“She saw the accused’s vehicle veering across the road and heading towards her.
“She had to swerve to avoid a head-on collision but collided with the lorry and was unable to avoid being struck by the accused’s vehicle.”
Mr Currie said Leva Karklina’s car then spun out of control across the central reservation and another two cars were struck as a result.
All the vehicles involved were badly damaged and Ms Karklina and Kirsty Hynd were injured, while Rennie was left with serious injuries.
Catalogue of carnage
Rennie, of Cromlix Road, Perth, admitted driving his 17-year-old Volkswagen Passat dangerously on the M90 Edinburgh to Perth motorway on March 20, 2019.
He admitted entering onto the opposing carriageway and driving at speed in the wrong direction into the path of oncoming vehicles.
He admitted causing Ms Karklina’s Vauxhall Astra to swerve into a lorry driven by Gary Robinson, before he struck her car and caused her to lose control.
A Peugeot 508 driven by Lorraine Patterson and a Audi Q3 driven by Kirsty Hynd were also struck and damaged during the pile-up on the outskirts of Perth.
The court was told Rennie had suffered a number of mini-strokes after the collision and suspected that is what may have led to him entering the wrong side of the road on the day of the incident.
Rennie sustained injuries in the crash and subsequently developed sepsis in hospital.
