A careless driver flipped his car into a field after hitting surface water during an unsafe overtake.
Przemyslaw Fratczak’s red Renault aquaplaned before colliding with the other car and crashing off the road.
The 38-year-old has now been banned from the road and handed unpaid work following the collision on the A96 Forres to Elgin road near Alves on September 27 last year.
Elgin Sheriff Court heard how the road was wet and it was raining when Fratczak decided that car in front of him was travelling too slowly.
Landed on roof in field
Fiscal depute Emily Hood said: “He was seen travelling in the opposite carriageway at which point he tried to overtake one of the vehicles during which time he hit standing water, struck the side of the vehicle, went on to the verge and rolled the car, which came to land on its roof in a field.”
She added that the roads were wet and other road users witnessed the crash, which left both cars “extensively damaged”.
Fratczak was charged with dangerous driving but a guilty plea to the lesser charge of careless driving was accepted by the Crown.
Defence agent Ben Thom said his client tried to overtake on a long straight stretch of road and that the car in front was travelling “well below the speed limit”.
Has since been banned from road
“He pulled out to overtake but didn’t appreciate there was a pool of standing water,” he said.
“He recalls his car was aquaplaning and he was effectively a passenger for what happens next.”
Fratczak, of Mannachie Road, Forres, has since been banned from driving for another matter but was handed another six-month disqualification plus 80 hours of unpaid work.
For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen as well as crime and breaking incidents, join our Facebook group.
