A Saab driver caused a head-on crash when he performed a dangerous overtake on a Fife road.
Christopher Jones, 55, followed an overtaking van in front of him but failed to give enough time to avoid colliding with an oncoming Land Rover Discovery on the A907 road, near Bogside, west of Blairhall, on October 18 last year.
The Land Rover driver suffered severe whiplash as a result.
Jones, of Grieve Street – who also suffered a whiplash-type injury – appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court to plead guilty to the dangerous driving charge.
Both vehicles were written off.
Sentencing was deferred until March 21 and Jones was banned from driving meantime.
Chef’s siege
A retired chef spent Christmas and New Year behind bars after sparking a “bizarre” police siege at a holiday let in Montrose. Fabrice Roverselli swung a hammer at one officer and sprayed another with cleaning fluid containing bleach.
Drunk in charge
An engineer was caught behind the wheel of a car while more than four times the drink-drive limit.
Josh Duff, 19, of Morich Road, Dalgety Bay, appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court to plead guilty to being in charge of a vehicle with excess alcohol (97mics/22) at Pinewood Drive, Dalgety Bay, on January 16 this year.
Prosecutor Amy Robertson told the court police were called to a disturbance shortly after midnight and saw a Volkswagen Polo on the road with its hazards flashing and two males inside.
The passenger got out and ran off but Duff remained in the driver’s seat.
On opening the door, police “instantly smelled alcohol” from Duff, who failed a roadside breath test, and the keys were in the ignition.
The court heard that earlier in the night a resident had spotted the Polo being driven poorly on a road outside but could not see who was driving due to its full beam lights.
Defence lawyer Alexander Flett said Duff had been out in the car earlier, left the vehicle in a friend’s street, then went to the pub.
He said Duff had not consumed alcohol at the time he had driven and intended to leave the vehicle there and go home and does not know why he later went to sit in the car.
Mr Flett said Duff works as a heat treatment engineer in the oil and gas industry at refinery and industrial sites and offshore and while losing his licence would be inconvenient, it would not lose his job.
Sheriff Garry Sutherland banned Duff from driving for six months and fined him £400.
Pizza nonsense
A pizza chef broke into a rival’s Dunfermline home and snatched his PlayStation 4 in an act of revenge. Erick Fragnito made off with the games console in Robertson Road on March 23 last year.
‘Medical emergency’ was too much booze
A disqualified driver found slumped against his vehicle and reeking of booze picked himself up and motored away as passers-by tried to offer assistance.
Witnesses thought William Nimmo was suffering a “medical emergency” when they saw him propped against a Dacia Duster near shops on Hatton Road, Rattray.
The 66-year-old widower appeared from custody at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted driving while nearly three times the limit (65mgs/100) and while disqualified with no insurance.
Prosecutor Sam Craib told the court a witness going to help Nimmo, fearing for his health, realised there was “a strong smell of alcohol” and alerted shop staff, who called an ambulance.
However, Nimmo had already driven away and he was found at home.
Solicitor Steve Lafferty, defending, said: “Since his wife’s passing, he has resorted to using alcohol on a daily basis.
“It was his son’s car and he stupidly took it to the shops to buy cigarettes. He knows full well that custody will be a possibility here.”
Sentence was deferred until March 20 and Nimmo, of Balmoral Road, Perth, was remanded.
A9 smash
A speeding under-the-influence driver caused a terrifying two-car smash which brought the A9 to a standstill. Christopher Harper crashed into another car while attempting a dodgy overtaking manoeuvre during a torrential downpour.
Hit 87-year-old
A Fife engineer who struck an 87-year-old female pedestrian with his car on a Glenrothes road has been fined.
Jake Beveridge appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court for sentencing after being found guilty of careless driving on August 24 2022 at an earlier trial.
The 25-year-old, of Fairley Court in Cairneyhill, was found to have turned a Volkswagen Golf into a junction at Napier Road, Glenrothes, when it was inappropriate to do so.
He reversed the vehicle into a road when it was unsafe, drove at excessive speeds and into the path of the pedestrian, causing his vehicle to strike her on the body so she fell to the ground to her injury, impairment and disfigurement.
Sheriff Mark O’Hanlon told Beveridge – who was initially charged with dangerous driving and offered to plead guilty to the lesser charge before his trial – he caused a “bad injury” and his driving was at the “high end of carelessness”.
The sheriff said he took into account the previous plea offered and imposed five penalty points and fined him £900.
Fled Scotland
A Merseyside builder who downloaded sick child abuse material while living in Montrose has been placed on the sex offenders register for the next five years. Philip Mills has since left Scotland to live with his parents in Formby.
No right turn
An IT worker who crashed with five children in his car has been handed penalty points.
Joshua Tierney, 33, of Castleview Drive, Bridge of Allan, was initially charged wtih dangerous driving but admitted driving carelessly on the A91 near his hometown on October 31 last year.
Stirling Sheriff Court heard the first offender had been driving near Powis Mains Farm at around 6.10pm when he turned right, despite a no right-turn sign and collided with another car.
Sheriff Mark O’Hanlon imposed four penalty points and a fine of £400, plus a £20 victim surcharge.
For more local court content visit our dedicated page or join us on Facebook.
