A motorist has clung onto his driving licence after causing a crash which left a schoolboy with spinal cord fracture.
Broughty Ferry gas engineer Andrew McAdam crashed on February 16 while a 12-year-old boy lay asleep across the back seats.
The boy had to be cut from the vehicle by a fire crew and wore a neck collar for 12 weeks.
McAdam came perilously close to being disqualified for causing the A90 crash, near Trinity, Brechin.
Crash
Fiscal depute Stuart Hamilton said: “At 10.25pm, the accused was driving southbound on the A90 with a child aged 12.
“Said child was lying prone across the rear passenger seats, fast asleep and not wearing a seatbelt.
“The accused has become fatigued and has careered off the carriageway, over a gravel verge and into the crash barrier.
“There was significant front-end damage, which caused the airbags to deploy.
“The automatic SOS system activated, contacting emergency services.
“Officers attended shortly thereafter and traced the accused outside the vehicle, standing on the road’s verge.”
The child was still inside the car, “complaining of severe shoulder and back pain”.
A lane of the road was blocked for 90 minutes.
McAdam told police he had been suffering from a headache and “the next thing he knew” he’d come off the road.
He confirmed he may have fallen asleep.
At Ninewells, the child was found to have a spinal cord injury but has since made a full recovery.
‘A salutary lesson’
McAdam, of Bennan Gardens in Broughty Ferry, was initially charged with causing serious injury by driving dangerously but a plea to reduced charge of careless driving was accepted at Forfar Sheriff Court.
Prior to the hearing, McAdam had three live points for speeding.
The 39-year-old’s solicitor Gary Foulis said: ““This has been a very, very difficult time for him.
“He realises there could have been much more serious consequences.
“He had been feeling ill. He now realises he should have immediately pulled over to the side of the road. That’s something that he did not do.
“He is the main breadwinner. He’s a gas engineer and has been for some significant time.
“The young lad has made a full recovery. He’s back at school, he’s playing football.
“He’s very sorry. It has been a salutary lesson.”
Sentencing
Sheriff Mungo Bovey fined McAdam £1,500, plus a £75 victim surcharge.
The sheriff initially stated he thought disqualification was “inevitable” but imposed eight points and allowed McAdam to keep his licence.
The sheriff said: “Mr Foulis has, I think, persuaded me that we have, as a consequence of your driving, a near miss rather than what it could have been and that I can protect the public by imposing eight penalty points, which is reduced from disqualification, and compensate for the leniency (with a significant fine).”
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