A van driver and his passenger were so badly hurt in a lorry smash on the edge of Perth a witness thought they had died, a court has heard.
Robert Cairnduff ploughed his white Ford Transit into the back of a queuing HGV near the Broxden Roundabout.
The collision was forceful enough to shunt the articulated lorry forward several metres.
Construction supervisor Cairnduff and his workmate Andrew Hannah had to be rescued from the wreckage of their van.
Mr Hannah suffered multiple injuries including two broken legs and still has “limited mobility”.
Cairnduff, 55, appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted causing serious injury to Mr Hannah by careless driving on December 12 2022.
He was told he should “consider himself lucky”.
Thought pair were ‘deceased’
Fiscal depute Duncan McKenzie said the crash happened at about 7.40am, when conditions were “frosty” with snow lying in nearby fields.
“There had been a build-up of traffic on the road about half-a-mile south of the roundabout.
“The driver of the lorry in front of the accused slowed down and came to a stop.
“Mr Cairnduff then drove into the back of the HGV, moving it forward by between five and 10 metres.”
The prosecutor said: “The driver of the lorry got out to see what had collided with his vehicle.
“When he observed Mr Cairnduff’s vehicle he thought he and Mr Hannah were deceased.
“Mr Hannah was unresponsive.”
Police, firefighters and ambulance crews were scrambled to the scene.
“Both Mr Cairnduff and Mr Hannah had to be extracted from the vehicle by emergency services,” Mr McKenzie said.
“Mr Hannah was taken to Ninewells Hospital.
“He suffered serious injuries but they were not life threatening.”
The court heard he was badly bruised with two broken legs, a broken left arm and a dislocated wrist.
Mr McKenzie confirmed Mr Hannah was recovering but his mobility was “limited”.
The carriageway was closed for more than two hours.
The crash prompted police to issue a public appeal for dashcam footage.
A9 lorry smash offence a ‘lapse of judgement’
The court heard Cairnduff’s job with a Glasgow construction firm may now be in jeopardy.
His lawyer described the offence as a “momentary lapse of judgement”.
Sheriff Alison McKay said although it was accepted Cairnduff was not breaking the speed limit, he must have been going at “considerable” speed to shunt the lorry forward so far.
She told him: “The charge before me is a charge of driving without due care and attention and as a consequence of that you caused serious injury to another person.
“You have to consider yourself quite lucky.
“The A9 and indeed other roads in Scotland are peppered with signs warning about roundabouts and you should reasonably have expected there will be a certain amount of traffic.”
She said: “The reason this accident occurred is because you weren’t paying attention.
“I appreciate you did brake but it was clearly too late.
“Clearly this was a significant collision and whether or not you retain your job, this conviction is going to have an impact on you.”
Cairnduff, of Linwood, Renfrewshire, was fined £1,400 and banned from driving for a year.
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