A boozed-up ex-Aberdeen cabbie’s driving was so bad that concerned witnesses thought he was having a heart attack at the wheel.
Frank Price had denied four charges but was found guilty following a trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.
The 70-year-old – who chose to defend himself without the aid of a solicitor – questioned witnesses in sometimes testy courtroom scenes and referred to Sheriff Lesley Johnston as “dear” throughout.
Sheriff Johnston had to repeatedly warn him not to be disrespectful and at one point Price was heard to mutter: “I think I should have got a solicitor.”
‘He was stinking of booze’
Taking to the witness stand, Elsa McLeod, 47, told the court Price had pulled out in front of her from Byron Avenue onto Provost Fraser Drive around 6.30pm on August 7 2022.
As she drove behind him, Ms McLeod described seeing him “swerve” and “mount the pavement” repeatedly, as well as crossing onto the wrong side of the road.
She told the court: “I said to my passenger, because I realised it was an elderly gentleman, that something could have one wrong so I followed him and phoned the police.
“I was a bit concerned, at that point, that something had happened to him.”
Ms McLeod followed Price to the bottom of Springhill Road where he bumped into the back of another car at a red light.
When she pulled up next to the cars, the woman described seeing Price stumbling about, before approaching her and saying: “Do you not think I’m f***ing capable of driving like?”
She added: “He was stinking of booze.”
I actually thought you had a medical emergency
Price then got back in his car and Ms McLeod followed him to the shops at Woodend where he stalled and struggled to restart the vehicle before eventually driving back home.
The witness described his driving at this point as being “all over the road, side to side”.
He then stopped “dramatically” outside his address on Byron Avenue and walked inside.
Ms McLeod said: “He could barely walk. The police came just as he went into his house.”
Cross-examining the witness, but directing his questions to the sheriff, Price said: “Why did she drive up my backside so close?”
Ms McLeod replied: “I was two car lengths behind you.
“I actually thought you had a medical emergency until you got out the car and spoke to me and I realised you were drunk.”
Price queried: “How come I was drunk when I just went down the road and bought some whisky and two cans of beer and cigarettes?”
Ms McLeod said: “You didn’t get out your car at the shops.”
The pensioner retorted: “Rubbish.”
‘I think I should have got a solicitor’
At that, Sheriff Johnston intervened to reprimand Price, saying: “I’m not going to tolerate you speaking to the witness in a disrespectful manner.
“I’m not going to tolerate you commenting on the evidence. You’re not here to argue with the witness.”
Price exclaimed: “I’m not arguing with her!”
The sheriff insisted he was and ordered him to be quiet while the witness answered questions.
Price muttered: “I think I should have got a solicitor.”
Sheriff Johnston said: “I’m afraid we’re past that point.”
‘I’m not going to have you antagonising the witness’
The second witness, Kirsty Kinnaird, 19, is Ms McLeod’s daughter and was a passenger in her car at the time.
She described seeing Price “swerving back and forth”, adding: “Mum said she was concerned they were drunk or experiencing a heart attack.”
In cross-examining the teenager, Price took a step towards her and pointed his finger aggressively.
Sheriff Johnston immediately halted proceedings, asked the witness to step outside and told Price: “I’ve given you a warning about your behaviour already in court.”
Price interjected: “I was only asking her a question, dear.”
The sheriff replied: “You’re interrupting me now. I’m not going to have you antagonising the witness.
“You’re to ask your questions in a respectful manner. This is the second time, at least, I’ve warned you about his.
“The court, if you’re going to continue disrupting, can continue these proceedings in your absence.”
Breath samples were three-times the limit
When the trial resumed after lunch, Price declined to question the witness further.
Evidence was also given by two police officers who spoke of finding Price in his address and said he refused to comply with an initial breath test or confirm that he was the driver of the car.
They said that Price did eventually provide the necessary breath samples at the station and he was more than three times the limit.
Asked by the sheriff if he had any questions for the police witnesses, Price replied: “None at all. Nae point, is there?”
Taking to the witness stand himself, Price told the court: “I was sitting in the house watching TV. There was a football match away to come on – Dundee United and somebody else.
“I went down to the shops to have a bet and get some whisky and beer and cigarettes and went home.
“I hadn’t had a drink before that, until the time I got back from the shops.”
Drink-driving is ‘nae my style’
Asked by the sheriff what his position was on the allegation of drink-driving, he replied: “Not guilty. It’s nae my style.
“I was a taxi driver for 17 or 18 years.”
Price went on to claim one of his neighbours was the “instigator” of the accusations, saying: “He’s got it in for me.”
Asked who he was referring to, Price said: “I don’t really know his name.”
Moving on, Price insisted his driving had been “normal” and that when he got back home he drank the majority of a 70cl bottle of whisky in around 45 minutes before the police turned up.
At that point Price apologised after being warned, once again, not to point his finger at the sheriff.
He concluded by adding: “There’s a lot of things made up in this case. I’ve nothing else to tell you, dear.”
In cross-examination, fiscal depute Anne MacDonald asked: “Are these two ladies we heard in the witness box in some way connected with this neighbour?”
When Price said yes, the fiscal said: “I never heard you mention that to them.”
Price replied: “I never thought about it, dear.”
He then speculated that they may be “family or something”.
Ms MacDonald asked: “Are you saying these two ladies who gave evidence against you today deliberately set out to make up a story between them and tell lies against you?”
Price said: “Yes. That’s the only way they can get back at me.”
Sheriff Johnston found Price, of Byron Avenue, Aberdeen, guilty of dangerous driving and driving with 78 microrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 22 microgrammes.
She also found him guilty of failing to comply with a preliminary breath test and failing to disclose to police the identity of the driver.
Sentence was deferred for background reports and Price was disqualified from driving in the interim.
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