A pensioner has admitted causing a horror crash which left him in a coma for a fortnight and two vehicles resting in a front garden.
Jean-Marie Prieur failed to stop at a crossroads junction between the unclassified Fordoun to Auchenblae road and the B966 Fordoun to Fettercairn road, colliding with a van.
The collision sent both vehicles spinning off the road before coming to rest in a residential front garden.
While the van driver escaped unhurt, Prieur suffered a bleed on the brain and was in a coma for two weeks, while his passenger was left with a fractured spine.
‘You need to stop here, Jean’
Appearing in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, the 75-year-old admitted causing serious injury by driving carelessly on March 8.
Fiscal depute Eilidh Gunn said Prieur didn’t stop at the junction and drove straight into the path of the van, which had no time to react.
She said: “Both vehicles left the road and came to rest in the front garden of a property.”
Emergency crews were contacted immediately and the van driver, along with Prieur’s passenger were able to get out of the vehicles, while Prieur remained where he was.
‘Extremely remorseful’
He was eventually removed and both men were rushed to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
Dashcam footage from Prieur’s car included audio of him and his passenger speaking, with the passenger saying “you need to stop here, Jean” as they reached the junction.
Before the crash, the footage showed Prieur had not been travelling at excessive speed and his driving appeared “normal”.
In hospital, Prieur’s passenger was found to have “stable fractures” to his spine and ribs.
Meanwhile, Prieur suffered fractures to his pelvis and ribs and required surgery on a bleed to the brain.
He was put in an induced coma for two weeks.
The court heard Prieur, of Dunnyfell Road, Newtonhill, had no memory of the incident but was “extremely remorseful”.
Ms Gunn added that Prieur’s “primary concern” had been the welfare of his friend and of the van driver.
Sheriff Nigel Cooke fined Prieur, who appeared in court without a solicitor, £520 and disqualified him from driving for a year.
For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen as well as crime and breaking incidents, join our Facebook group.
