A biker has admitted causing a horror crash which left his pillion passenger so severely injured his foot had to be amputated.
Stuart McLennan had been giving his good friend a lift on his motorbike when the terrifying incident happened on the B9170 near Auchnieve.
The 40-year-old crashed into another car during an attempted overtake on a blind bend, leaving both men horribly injured.
McLennan’s passenger’s lower leg “degloved” after he landed on the roof of the car, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
Fiscal depute Rebecca Thompson told Aberdeen Sheriff Court the incident happened around 4.30pm on Friday August 13 2021 on the Oldmeldrum to Methlick road.
She said McLennan and his passenger were heading from Inverurie towards Ellon at the time.
A witness who was overtaken by McLennan described the manner of his driving as “desperate”.
Other witnesses, a husband and wife, were driving around 50-60mph around a bend when they became aware of McLennan very close behind them, so much so that the woman remarked: “There’s a motorbike hard up my a***.”
McLennan then overtook their car and had to “brake heavily” to slot back into the right side of the road ahead of it but behind the vehicle in front.
Foot ‘could not be saved’
But as they approached another bend, McLennan again moved onto the other side of the road in a bid to carry out another overtake.
At the same time, a woman driving in the opposite direction also entered the bend, which had significant shrubbery on both sides, restricting the view.
Nevertheless, McLennan continued the manouvre and, on meeting the car coming the other way, tried to take evasive action.
Ms Thompson told the court: “He collided with the offside of a car coming the other way, causing it to strike the west verge of the roadway where it came to a rest having sustained significant damage.
“The accused and his motorcycle then collided with the rear of the car that had been in front before coming to rest approximately 30 metres south of the collision.
“On impact, McLennan’s friend was thrown from the motorcycle and landed on the roof of the car in front.”
The emergency services were called and the man was found to have suffered “a number of serious injuries”.
He was initially stabilised while still on the car roof before being airlifted to hospital.
‘Most sincere and formal apologies’
McLennan himself co-operated with police but was not arrested at the time as he too required urgent medical attention.
His friend suffered injuries including:
- An open fracture to his right arm
- An open fracture to his right femur
- A “degloving” of his lower right leg and near amputation of the right foot at the ankle
Ms Thompson said: “His foot, unfortunately, could not be saved and was subsequently amputated at hospital, where he remained for several months to receive treatment as an inpatient.”
McLennan, of Swan Place, Ellon, pled guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
His defence solicitor Victoria Anderson tendered his “most sincere and formal apologies” to the court and to his friend.
‘Anguish at what happened’
She explained the pair remained friends following the incident and added: “He fully accepts he’s not the person most put out by what happened that day.”
The lawyer described McLennan as “a caring individual who takes his duties as a road user extremely seriously”.
Ms Anderson added: “However, he’s forced to accept he significantly misjudged matters on the day in question.
“He is genuinely remorseful.
“It’s something which Mr McLennan has put at the front of every discussion with me, his anguish at what happened, particularly that he has been the cause of the injuries sustained by his friend.
“He has a strong desire to be able to bear his friend’s suffering himself, but realises that is simply not possible.”
McLennan was also seriously injured in the crash and spent nine weeks in hospital, undergoing six different surgeries, she added.
She said he would not be returning to motorcycling and had had to give up his work as a roofer.
The incident also had a “significant impact” on his mental health.
Sheriff Morag McLaughlin handed McLennan a six-month curfew, 18 months of supervision and 160 hours of unpaid work.
She also banned him from driving for five years.
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