A bid is being made to take the court testimony of a paralysed road accident victim from his Polish bedside to put before a Scots jury.
Krysztof Birula was paralysed from the neck down after the car he was in crashed down a remote Angus glens gorge more than 18 months ago.
His friend Robert Buzalski has been charged with driving dangerously while one-and-a-half times the legal drink-drive limit on the dark farm road near Edzell.
Mr Birula was treated at a specialist spinal unit in Glasgow before returning to his homeland and attempts are now being made to slice through red tape to allow his crucial evidence in the long-running case to be rubber-stamped by Polish authorities for submission to a jury at Forfar Sheriff Court.
Buzalski was working with Perth Forestry Services at Inveralmond at the time of the crash on August 24 2013.
The indictment faced by the 36-year-old alleges he seriously injured Mr Birula by driving at excessive speed on the Dalbog Farm road near Edzell when it was dark and raining, braked sharply and lost control, causing the car to strike the gorge of a bank and fall into a river bed.
His alleged alcohol count was 124 milligrammes, against a legal limit of 80.
Buzalski has also since returned to Poland and the accused’s solicitor, Brian Bell, told the Forfar court he is to travel to Krakow shortly in an attempt to move things forward.
“My client is adhering to his not guilty plea and I am travelling to Poland to see the witness in the case.
“He’s completely paralysed as I understand it, having broken his back.
“Senior counsel has requested that I go there and take a statement, and the witness evidence may then be taken on commission by the Polish court.”
Mr Bell added: “A statement was taken from the witness in the Glasgow spinal injuries unit but does not make any reference to speed or sharp braking.”
It is understood that a letter of request for the Polish authorities to take the witness statement will be required and may further delay the trial date.
Sheriff Gregor Murray said there was a need for “constructive discussion” between the Crown and defence to resolve the witness testimony issue. The case will call again later this month.