A van driver under the influence of tranqilisers and anti-depressants caused a serious accident on a busy city roundabout that injured five people.
Two nurses and three civilians were hurt in the crash when Sean Macdonald, 41, ran into the back of a vehicle in front of him just off the Inshes roundabout in Inverness.
The collision caused it to surge forward, hitting student nurses Emily Pollock and Nuala Prentice.
Yesterday at Inverness Sheriff Court, Macdonald admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving in the March 2015 crash.
The court heard that Miss Pollock fractured her pelvis, suffered cuts, grazes and bruises mainly to her hands, knees and back.
A head injury required five stitches by her colleagues in Raigmore Hospital, just a few yards away from the scene.
Miss Prentice sustained cuts and bruises to her legs, knuckles, a small bump on her head and a painful left calf.
The occupants of the car, Joanne and Matt Salles and their friend Edilberton Bellermino, were also injured.
She sustained a broken arm and sore shoulder; Mr Salles a painful neck and back and Mr Bellermino a fractured rib and badly bruised back and leg.
Sheriff Margaret Neilson was told that Macdonald, of Ashton Crescent, had been under the influence of diazepam and an anti-depressant when the crash happened.
Fiscal depute Roderick Urquhart said: “Macdonald seems not to have reacted to the red stop light signal, the Salles’s stationary car or the two pedestrians on the crossing.
“He collided with the back of the car, shunting it forward into the crossing and striking both the pedestrians.
“He said to his passenger, Gavin MacBeath, something like “What have I done?” Mr MacBeath’s chest and chin had struck the dashboard but apart from some anticipated bruising, was not significantly hurt.
“He said that he was aware that Macdonald had “a serious Valium problem.” He also said that he had seen [him] take Valium a couple of times earlier in the day.
“Police arrived and declared Macdonald to be showing signs of being under the influence of some substance. A breath test was negative for alcohol.
“Subsequent analysis of his blood established the presence of the benzodiazepine tranquiliser Diazepam and its metabolites, and also the antidepressant Mirtazapine.
“Just over half of all patients who are prescribed the latter drug report drowsiness.” Mr Urquhart went on.
Macdonald admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving and had sentence deferred until November 23 for a background report.
He was also banned from driving in the interim.
His solicitor Marc Dickson reserved his comments until then.
