A young drink-driver who caused the death of his 18-year-old passenger in a crash on the outskirts of Perth has lost his appeal to have his prison sentence reduced.
Jamie Fleming of Newburgh, who is now 22, did succeed in getting the length of his driving ban reduced, from eight to six years and eight months.
Fleming lost control of his uninsured Ford Focus while speeding on the M90 near to the Broxden junction in March 2011 and crashed, claiming the life of his friend Ricky Brown. He later told police that he “felt fine” despite being nearly double the alcohol limit, and did not think the lager, vodka and Coke and a shot of spirits he had consumed after going out to watch a TV football match in Perth had affected him.
The judge, Lady Stacey, said: “You chose to drive that night while under the influence of alcohol having been in several pubs.”
She said Fleming’s record was “a troubling one” with a previous conviction for careless driving and two warnings from police over motoring incidents. He admitted two charges resulting from the tragedy and was sentenced to a total of five years in prison and disqualified from driving for eight years.
Fleming’s counsel contended that the sentences were excessive because of his age, the fact he had never been in prison before and his good work record. Other factors were that he had shown immediate remorse for causing the death of his close friend and had himself been injured.
Appeal court judge Lord Mackay said the amount of alcohol Fleming had consumed and his driving at 75mph displayed a significant degree of carelessness and lack of consideration for others, and five years in prison was not excessive.
The driving ban was longer than necessary and could have been achieved just as well by a shorter disqualification of six years and eight months.
In November it was revealed that Brown’s family are suing Fleming for £300,000 “on a point of principle”.