Terrified motorists caught up in a high speed police chase in rural Angus feared someone was going to be killed.
One woman feared she was going to be “taken out” during the chase on Monday night.
Luis Hill, 22, from Kemsley Place, Forfar, appeared from custody at Dundee Sheriff Court on Tuesday to admit driving dangerously, while disqualified and without insurance in the chase across Angus.
The incident, which unfolded on streets and roads in Letham and Friockheim as well as various other locations, saw Hill chased by police as he sped away in his black VW Golf.
‘I was terrified’
Witness Claire McDonald from Arbroath, said: “I nearly got taken out in this chase.
“I really thought they were going to hit me.
“I was terrified that the chase was going to end up killing someone or injuring them.”
Claire had been returning to Arbroath from Forfar, with her seven-year-old daughter, Aleisha, in the car.
“I was coming round the bend after passing Murton Farm on my way back to Arbroath from Forfar and as I approached I could see flashing blue lights but didn’t expect to turn the corner and see the police car into my side of the road,” she said.
“It looked like it was trying to overtake the black Golf or force it back onto the right side of the road so as to avoid me.
“However they were so close together that I thought they were going to hit me or the police car was going to hit the Golf.”
‘My daughter was crying’
Claire said she was forced to slam on her brakes and tried to move into the side.
“I was so thankful no one was behind me,” she said.
“If I’d maintained my speed I’d have hit them.
“My daughter was crying in the back she’d got such a fright.
“The speeds round those bends was horrific. We were both really shaken up.”
Another witness, Neil Madge, said: “I came out the Lochead Farm road along from Forfar Golf Course and the car was on the other side of the road being chased.
“Another 10 seconds and it would’ve hit me.”
High speed chase ‘could have ended in disaster’
Other local residents reported the cars “flying” past their homes in Friockheim, Letham and on the outskirts of Forfar at speeds of around 60mph.
One said it “could have ended in disaster”.
A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Around 6pm on Monday April 19, a black Volkswagen Golf failed to stop when signalled to by police on Auldbar Road in Letham.
“Officers pursued the vehicle until it came to a voluntary stop on a single track road off the B961 near Friockheim in Angus.”
The charges
The 22-year-old tore his way around roads including East Hemming Street in Letham, the A932 towards Forfar, Blairs Road and the U464 in Letham, the A932 near Milldens and the B965 Station Road in Friockheim.
He admitted driving dangerously and at speeds which were above the limit and excessive for the road conditions.
He also admitted exiting junctions, forcing his way past other motorists and entering the opposing side of the carriageway – all when not safe to do so – including latterly, on the approaches to blind bends.
Hill also pled guilty to driving on roads around Angus that night – and on January 30 on the A926 between Forfar and Kirriemuir and on the latter town’s North Mains Road – while disqualified and without insurance.
Sheriff Alison Michie released Hill on bail and he is scheduled to be sentenced on May 20.
