A lorry driver who left a woman wheelchair-bound after he drove over her as she crossed the road in Inverness city centre has been jailed.
John Macleod was also over the drink-driving limit when he failed to spot the 57-year-old pedestrian and knocked her to the ground with the cab of his Mercedes tipper.
The woman’s leg had to be amputated after multiple wheels of the vehicle ran over her, leaving a “trail of flesh” in the road, Inverness Sheriff Court was told.
When shocked eyewitnesses ran after Macleod and got him to put on the brakes, the oblivious lorry driver told them: “I never seen her.”
Macleod, 33, appeared via videolink from custody to admit a single charge of causing serious injury by dangerous driving while under the influence of alcohol in relation to the incident on March 12 of 2021.
Fiscal depute Shamielah Ghafar told the court that the incident had taken place just before 1pm.
She said the woman had been walking north along Southside Road heading for Boots the Chemist at Crown Street with Macleod driving in the same direction in the course of his employment.
After stopping at the traffic lights, Macleod attempted to make a left turn onto Crown Street “swinging out” as he did so.
The woman, who a witness said was already a third of the way across the road as Macleod commenced the manoeuvre, was knocked to the ground by the cab of the lorry.
“The accused at this time, apparently, was unaware of what has happened and has continued driving forward, at which point [the woman’s] legs have gone under the nearside wheel.
“Then, as the motor lorry continued forward, her right leg has further gone under the near side wheel of axles three and four,” Ms Ghafar told Sheriff Ian Cruickshank.
A witness watching the incident unfold heard a “distressed shout” as the woman went out of view and realised she had been run down.
The witness “ran after the vehicle shouting to stop as he had hit a lady” to which Macleod replied: “I never seen her”.
Police investigating the immediate aftermath of the incident noted a “large trail of flesh and tissue on the roadway” while the woman needed immediate lifesaving treatment.
At the police station, Macleod provided a positive breath alcohol test with a reading of 26 microgrammes per 100 mililitres – the legal limit being 22 microgrammes.
“Police requested that a toxicology report and scientific alcohol back calculation be completed for the time of the RTC, which revealed that the accused’s breath alcohol at the time of the collision would have been 37mcg,” Ms Ghafar said.
A subsequent investigation found that a “careful, competent and professional driver should have entered the junction at a speed of about 5mph” due to the width and angle of the turn.
But analysis of CCTV, tachograph data and the locus determined that “the accused’s vehicle was travelling at 8mph at that time”.
Life-threatening injuries
The court heard that the woman “lost so much blood” her injuries were classed as “life-threatening”.
“Her right leg was totally flattened by the weight of the large goods vehicle,” Ms Ghafar said and, as a result, the entire right leg was amputated during initial emergency surgery.
Reports at the time described her injuries as “life-changing”.
She was placed in a medical coma and airlifted to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
She later underwent skin grafting procedures in an unsuccessful attempt to allow her to use a prosthetic leg.
“She can’t use a prosthetic leg due to the lack of flesh and is now wheelchair-bound,” Ms Ghafar said.
‘It is indeed a matter of fact that he was over the legal limit’
Advocate Lorenzo Alonzi, for Macleod, said the incident was a “tragedy” and highlighted a pre-sentencing report that acknowledged his client’s “acceptance of his responsibility for this”.
He said: “It is indeed a matter of fact that he was over the legal limit.
“For all that he did not know he was still under the influence of drink from the night before he accepts that he ought to have known.”
Speaking of the collision, Mr Alonzi said: “His eyes were everywhere. Tragically, the one place that they should have been was missed or was missed at that very moment of time.
“It is no excuse.”
Sheriff Ian Cruickshank told Macleod: “You appeared today having pled guilty to a charge of dangerous driving in which you caused serious injury.
“The incident took place in the centre of Inverness and you have no hesitation in accepting that you have expressed remorse.
‘A custodial sentence is inevitable’
“It is a case however, of a driver of an HGV driving at speed for the particular locus and while under the influence of alcohol.
“The injuries sustained were severe and indeed have led to disfigurement, permanent impairment and there was danger of life at the outset.
“A custodial sentence is inevitable.”
He jailed Macleod, whose address was given on court papers as a prisoner in Inverness, for 36 months.
Macleod was also banned from the roads for seven-and-a-half years and told he must take and pass an extended test if he wished to get back behind the wheel.
Macleod’s victim, who was in court today to see the sentencing, declined to comment after the case.
