An energy boss hit a woman with his car on the A96 then fled the scene and went offshore for work while police tried to identify him.
Robert Hay, 38, struck the woman with his grey Audi as she crossed the dual carriageway in Aberdeen but, instead of stopping, he drove off without alerting the police.
The stricken pedestrian was helped by a member of the public and taken to hospital to receive medical treatment for various injuries.
Hay, who never reported the collision to the authorities, then travelled offshore for his job – forcing accident investigators to spend more than two weeks hunting him down.
Eventually, they pieced together that he had been the driver in the crash and traced him to his home address, where he finally admitted: “It was myself”.
Aberdeen offshore worker ‘panicked’ after A96 crash
His solicitor later claimed his client had “panicked” at the time of the incident but now “severely regrets” his decision not to stop and help the hurt woman.
The crash occurred around 6.30pm on January 22 this year, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
Fiscal depute Eilidh Gunn said a woman left Lidl and was crossing the A96 Auchmill Road between the junction with Inverurie Road and the roundabout junction with the A947 Stonywood Road in Aberdeen.
CCTV camera footage showed Hay’s grey Audi moving from lane two to lane one.
His brake lights activated as “an object known to be the complainer is thrown from the front of the vehicle”.
The video evidence recorded Hay’s car driving off before being lost from view in the direction of his home address.
“At around the same time, a witness became aware of the complainer at the edge of the road and offered assistance,” Ms Gunn added.
“Police officers were then dispatched to the scene, where they found the woman had suffered injuries ‘consistent with being hit with a vehicle’.”
The woman was then taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and treated for a significant number of injuries.
Police enquiries were made and Hay was later identified as the driver who had struck the woman and failed to stop.
Robert Hay’s lawyer told the Aberdeen court he was ‘traumatised by the event’
When officers turned up at his home more than two weeks later and asked Hay about his involvement in the collision, he replied: “It was myself”.
Appearing in the dock, Hay pled guilty to one charge of leaving the scene of a car accident.
His defence solicitor William Mackay told the court that the woman had crossed the dual carriageway and “run right in front” of his client.
“Mr Hay had tried his best to avoid the accident but he was unsuccessful in that,” Mr Mackay added.
“He then panicked and he made the decision not to stop. The wrongdoing was by not stopping. Obviously, he should have stopped. He was traumatised by the event.”
The solicitor went on to say that Hay “severely regrets” that he did not stop his car.
Sheriff Craig Findlater told the offender that he had failed to stop despite “being aware that you had struck a pedestrian on the dual carriageway”.
The sheriff commented: “In my view, that is a serious matter.
“This was not a fender bender. This is striking another human with your car and the sentence I impose upon you will reflect that.”
Sheriff Findlater handed Hay, of Rowett South Lane in Aberdeen, a total of seven penalty points on his driving licence and fined him £2,275.
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