An under-the-influence driver who smashed into another car at a busy Perth junction had 10 different types of drugs in his system.
Tomasz Kolkowski was found with white powder around his mouth and nose after he failed to stop for traffic lights in the city’s Newhouse Road and rammed into a waiting Renault Megane.
The mother and daughter in the other vehicle were unharmed.
Police were already looking for the 43-year-old’s Saab Vector after shocked supermarket staff raised concerns about his condition earlier that evening.
Perth Sheriff Court heard that a blood sample revealed Kolkowski had got behind the wheel after taking a cocktail of depressants, antidepressants, Valium, benzos, opiates, stimulants and meth.
He pled guilty to driving while unfit with drink or drugs on April 23 last year.
Originally charged with dangerous driving, Kolkowski admitted an amended charge of driving without due care or attention.
Car never slowed down
The court heard that around 3.30pm, staff at Tesco on Crieff Road noticed Kolkowski shuffling about in the aisles.
“He appeared to be under the influence, so they kept an eye on him,” the fiscal depute said.
“They opened a checkout especially to serve the accused.”
A sales assistant asked Kolkowski if he was driving, but he denied he was.
Staff then watched him walk out of the store and into his Saab parked out front.
Details of the vehicle were passed onto the police.
Around the same time, a mother and her daughter who were driving through Perth stopped at a red light on the Newhouse Road and Struan Road junction.
The woman saw Kolkowksi’s car coming towards her vehicle.
“It failed to slow down and collided with the car, causing damage,” the prosecutor said.
Both vehicles pulled into a nearby car park, where they were found by police.
“The accused was the sole occupant of the vehicle,” the court heard.
“Police noted he had white residue on his face, around his lips and month.
“His speech was slurred and he was unsteady on his feet.
“Officers formed the opinion he was impacted through drink or drugs.”
‘Clearly an issue’
The court heard Kolkowski was taken to Perth Royal Infirmary as a precaution.
Later, a blood sample revealed the level of drugs in his system.
These including etizolam, diazepam, codeine, amphetamine and methylampetamine.
Solicitor David Holmes, defending, said his client had been self-medicating after he had been attacked.
“This is a person who realises he has done wrong,” he said.
“He may benefit from some kind of supervision.”
Sheriff Mark O’Hanlon was told Kolkowski, of Balgowan Road, Perth, had received five penalty points from a previous traffic conviction.
The sheriff said: “As identified in the social work report, there is clearly an issue here.”
He ordered Kolkowski to undertake 160 hours of unpaid work and placed him under supervision for a year.
He was further banned from driving for 15 months.
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