A pensioner has admitted causing “tens of thousands of pounds” of damage after he lost control of his vehicle and smashed into a house.
Retired man Jonathan Line, 66, was seen driving at excessive speed and lost control of his vehicle which ended up careering through a garden and crashing into the wall of a home in Portlethen.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told that the damage caused during the incident is “expected to cost tens of thousands of pounds” to fix.
Line, who handed in his licence as a result of the crash, told the court that his foot got stuck between the pedals of his automatic car causing him to lose control and crash.
He pleaded guilty to being behind the wheel of the vehicle as it lost control on February 26 this year.
Pensioner’s car caused ‘extensive damage’ to woman’s home
Fiscal depute Emma Petersen told the court that Line was spotted “revving the engine excessively” in the car park of B&M Stores at Portlethen Retail Park prior to the incident.
She added: “Shortly after the car left the car park the accused was seen driving at high speed and mounting a grass embankment.
“The accused then failed to pause or give way at the junction of Muirend Road and Rowenbank Road before driving across two lanes of traffic.
“The car was then seen to drive across another grass embankment and a footpath where both wheels were on the pavement before continuing through a garden and colliding with the exterior wall of 1 Nicol Place.
“Upon colliding with the wall the engine was still revving and the wheels were spinning.”
Ms Petersen said the damage to the outside property is “expected to cost tens of thousands of pounds” in repairs.
‘He has no real explanation for what happened’
Defence agent Graham Morrison told the court that Line started the automatic transmission car but has “no real explanation as to what happened next”.
He added: “He thinks his foot got trapped between the accelerator and the brake pedal forcing the car to accelerate.
“He tells me he’s had all sorts of problems with the gear shift and it caused the vehicle to career off down the embankment, across a road, then down a road and into this woman’s house.
“He has never had any road traffic offences in his life and he’s never been involved in an accident.”
As a result of the crash, Mr Morrison said Line realised there “was something wrong with him” and surrendered his licence.
“He put it down to his Type 1 diabetes getting worse and he would appear to have some sort of neurological condition”, Mr Morrison added.
Sheriff Margaret Hodge said: “He has no previous convictions and he has surrendered his licence, which is a good thing.”
She fined the 67-year-old £420 and disqualified him from driving for 12 months.
She also ordered Line, of Brighton Place, Peterculter, to complete an extended competency test after his ban is complete.
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