A trainee doctor was more than three times the drink-drive limit when he crashed into a parked police car at the scene of an A9 accident.
An officer had to run out of the path of Shafeer Rishad’s BMW, which hit the police vehicle with such force that one of its wheels was ripped off.
Rishad told officers he “did not see” the marked vehicle, which was stopped near the Newtonmore junction at Ralia with its blue lights activated.
Inverness Sheriff Court was told he had ignored an officer’s signals to slow down, causing the policeman to take evasive action.
Rishad, 25, previously admitted charges of drink-driving and dangerous driving in relation to the collision on January 26 of this year.
Fiscal depute Emma MacEwan said that officers were on the scene following a two-vehicle crash that had partially blocked the carriageway.
They had parked around 75 yards south of the junction for Newtonmore with their blue lights activated while a recovery vehicle worked to clear the scene.
Ms MacEwan said: “The police witness was standing at the rear of the police vehicle and noted a vehicle travelling northbound failing to slow down or react to blue lights.
“He signalled for it to slow down, it did not.”
At this point, the officer ran across the carriageway and onto the southbound verge to avoid being struck by Rishad’s BMW, which then “collided heavily” with the police vehicle.
Impact ripped wheel from police car
The impact ripped a wheel from the marked car, which rolled into traffic, colliding with another vehicle and then one of the cars being recovered from the previous collision.
“It narrowly missed police witnesses who were in the vicinity,” the fiscal depute added.
Officers checked on the driver of the BMW and found he “appeared confused, was disorientated, and didn’t know what had happened”.
They noted that Rishad “smelled strongly of alcohol” and he stated that he “did not see” the vehicle.
Rishad failed a roadside breath test and subsequent testing found him to have 78 microgrammes of alcohol per litre of breath – more than three times the legal limit of 22.
Solicitor Michael Lyon, for Rishad, told the court his client was “extremely fortunate” not to be facing a more serious charge.
He said the second-year medical trainee had apologised to officers in the wake of the incident and wished to reiterate that apology, especially to the officer he had failed to slow for.
“If it wasn’t for his quick action at the time we could have been dealing with something much more serious,” Mr Lyon said.
Alcohol had ‘become problematic’
He said alcohol had “become problematic” for Rishad.
“There is a GMC investigation running alongside this, he is under constant monitoring and assessment,” Mr Lyon said, adding that Rishad was subject to regular alcohol testing and was undergoing counselling.
Sheriff Sara Matheson said it was “a grave matter”.
She noted that Rishad, of Cumlodden Drive, Maryhill, was more than three times the limit and had travelled “a considerable distance from Glasgow”.
She placed him on a community payback order with 18 months supervision and 200 hours of unpaid work in the community.
Rishad – who avoided press cameras after the case by sprinting from the court building – was also banned from the roads for 20 months and will need to sit an extended test before getting back behind the wheel.
Speaking after the sentencing, Inspector Donnie Mackinnon, of the Highland and Islands Road Policing Unit, said: “This incident highlights the dangers of drink-driving and how it adversely affects a driver’s decision-making, awareness and cognitive ability. We are thankful that no one was injured as a result.
“The consequences could have been far worse, not only for those directly involved but for their families and friends, so I appeal to road users to make safe and sensible decisions, one of which is never drive after consuming alcohol or drugs, because it can be life-changing.”
