A dangerous driver who turned into the path of an oncoming car at a junction of the A9 left the other motorist with a broken neck, sternum and ribs.
Emma Baillie’s Ford Fiesta hit the oncoming Volkswagen Golf “almost head-on” as she entered the southbound carriageway of the trunk road at its junction with the A95.
Baillie shattered her wrist in two places during the crash, which happened around 3pm on December 28 2021.
She has since appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court and pled guilty to a charge of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Fiscal depute Pauline Gair told the court that the dangerous driver was travelling north, intending to turn onto the A95 as her victim headed south, with another car behind her.
‘Extensive damage’ in A9 crash
“As the accused has attempted to cross the carriageway, the collision has occurred,” Mrs Gair explained.
When police arrived at the scene they found Baillie’s car stopped in the northbound filter lane “having suffered extensive damage”.
The other driver’s vehicle, a VW Golf, was stopped in the filter lane from the junction to the southbound carriageway.
The court heard that “all parties were out of their respective vehicles” and the driver of the Golf was complaining of a sore neck.
Mrs Gair said the woman told police: “She did not know what had happened, only that she was travelling southbound and was suddenly hit by another vehicle”.
A witness from the car that had been travelling behind the Golf told officers that Baillie’s vehicle had entered the opposite carriageway and collided “almost head-on” with the Golf.
He described how the driver of the Golf had “no time” to react.
The impact caused the car to leave the road, knocking over a sign before coming to a stop.
Victim in other car suffered broken neck, broken sternum and five broken ribs
An ambulance was called to the scene where the Golf driver was later discovered to have suffered a broken neck, broken sternum and five broken ribs as well as a collapsed lung.
“Her injuries have had an effect on her ongoing activities,” Mrs Gair told the court.
A rear-seat passenger in Baillie’s car suffered three broken ribs and a whiplash and Baillie’s wrist was shattered in two places.
The incident was caught on a dashcam, with video footage showing Baillie’s vehicle turning “directly into the path” of the other car.
Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald told Baillie, of Cairnview Road, Aviemore: “Because of the serious nature of this charge, I’m going to defer sentence for a criminal justice social work report”.
Solicitor Shahid Latif, who defended Baillie, reserved his comments in mitigation for the sentencing hearing.
Baillie was banned from the roads in the meantime, with immediate effect, because her conviction carries a mandatory driving disqualification.
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