A young man who drove at speeds of up to 120mph before crashing his father’s car and injuring two friends has been jailed.
Donald Martin, 21, of Mull, was sentenced to 182 days, banned from driving for five years and ordered to resit his test.
Oban Sheriff Court heard that Martin, of No 1 Caravan, Lee Ardturn, Bunessan, had been drinking in a local pub with friends Iain MacDougall and Connor Simpson before they walked back to his caravan at closing time on August 21.
Fiscal Eoin McGinty said: “At the caravan there was some discussion about how Mr MacDougall was going to get to work in the morning.
“The accused said he would drive him home, then took the keys for his father’s car, a Skoda Octavia.
“The distance they intended to drive was about six miles. The two passengers describe the accused driving like an idiot for the entire journey.
“He was driving at excessive speed. There was a built-up area near Bunessan where he struck and killed a sheep.
“There came a point where he was approaching a crest in the road and he began to accelerate rapidly.
“One witness described the speed as being between 110-120mph. The vehicle hit the crest and became airborne. It landed and the accused lost control, the car flipped on to its roof and continued to skid on the roof for some 60 to 98ft before it came to rest.”
All three got out of the car and went to a nearby house for help.
Mr Simpson suffered a fracture to a vertebrae in his back, while the other two men had cuts and bruises. Mr Simpson was later airlifted to hospital in Glasgow.
Martin pleaded admitted driving dangerously, while disqualified and without insurance.
His agent, solicitor Laura McManus, said he had been “showing off” in front of his friends but was extremely remorseful.
Sheriff John Herald told Martin: “You are exceedingly lucky that nobody was killed in this incident and you are not facing a charge of death by dangerous driving.
“It gives me absolutely no pleasure at all, given your age and the time of year, but I have no alternative, and I would be failing in my public duty, if I were not to impose a term of imprisonment.”
