A Navy ambulance driver who seriously injured himself in a dangerous overtaking manoeuvre has been told it was “by the grace of God” he did not kill anyone.
Jacob Wyse suffered a broken neck and ruptured bowel in the collision after carrying out the manoeuvre on the summit of a Fife hill.
He crashed head-on into another vehicle, with a third car then hitting the wreckage.
Two other drivers were injured as a result.
At Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court Wyse was banned from driving for two years and told he must resit the extended driving test before being allowed back on the road.
He was also ordered to carry out 240 hours of unpaid work.
Sheriff Timothy Niven-Smith observed: “He could easily have been sitting in the High Court in Edinburgh had one of the other people died.
“He would inevitably have been facing very significant period of imprisonment for causing death by dangerous driving.
“It’s by the grace of God that nobody died in this extremely moronic manoeuvre.”
Solicitor, Lewis Faulds, defending, said Wyse now works for an accident recovery firm but remains a Navy reservist, something he is keen to continue doing.
Addressing Wyse directly, Sheriff Niven-Smith said: “This offence is particularly serious because clearly you were driving a low-powered vehicle.
“The road managers have put lines there and it is a criminal offence to traverse these lines and you did so at speed
“You’re extremely lucky you didn’t kill yourself or someone.
“Had you killed someone he would have probably been looking at four years imprisonment.
“But no period of imprisonment would ever replace a loved one.”
Crash described in court
Wyse, 20, of Balbedie Avenue, Kirkcaldy, admitted driving dangerously on the B922 Cluny road on January 5 last year.
The crash resulted in injuries to himself and two other drivers.
The court had previously heard Wyse’s Seat Ibiza was turned 180 degrees in the collision.
Fiscal depute Eve McKaig said the crash happened shortly after 5.30pm.
She said the driver of a Vauxhall Astra in the northbound lane, travelling at about 55mph, suddenly saw Wyse’s headlights in his rear-view mirror.
Wyse attempted to overtake over a solid white line but hit a Toyota Rav 4, driven by William Roxburgh, which was travelling in the opposite direction, followed by a Vauxhall Corsa, driven by Liam Greig.
When emergency services arrived at the scene they found Wyse’s vehicle halfway up an embankment, with the then-19 year old lying on the road.
He was taken to Ninewells Hospital where he was round to have a ruptured bowel and fractures to his neck.
The other two men suffered whiplash, with Mr Roxburgh also suffering a cut to his head.
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