A Moray chef who led police on a wild chase after trying to scramble evidence of crashing his car was banned from the road yesterday.
Ruairidh Mackenzie, of The Mews Nethermills, 4 Nethermills, Grange, near Keith, crashed his Ford Mondeo on the B9103 Sheriffston to Lossiemouth road in the early hours of the morning and then fled the scene.
The incident happened on December 17 last year, at about 2am.
The 26-year-old was sentenced at Elgin Sheriff Court yesterday after admitting attempting to defeat the ends of justice and failing to identify himself as the driver of the car when asked by police after being caught.
He had also been accused of drink driving, but the charge was dropped.
The court heard the cook, who works near Forres, was driving with a friend when he lost control of the car and went off the road while trying to overtake another vehicle.
Fiscal Kevin Corrins said an argument then broke out between Mackenzie and his passenger over who was to blame for the accident.
They pleaded with the other driver not to contact the police, but he refused due to the rural location of the incident.
Desperate not to be arrested, Mackenzie then removed his number plates and threw away his car keys before fleeing the scene and running into a nearby wood.
Police dogs were enlisted to search for the father-of-one and, after two hours, he was traced.
He then failed to identify himself as the driver of the car when asked by Constable Cara Wicks.
Defence counsel Robert Cruickshank said his client “puts his behaviour on the night down to drink” and added that was not something he ordinarily did.
Sheriff John Halley said: “The facts are very concerning indeed and in failing to identify yourself when required to give details of that particular nature, in view of your driving history, the court is dealing with very serious matters indeed.
“You need to get the message in relation to your conduct as a driver about what is acceptable in the public interest of safety when using the roads in this country.”
Mackenzie was disqualified from driving for 10 months, had his license endorsed and will have to complete 270 hours of unpaid work in the next six months.
Sheriff Halley also placed him under supervision for 18 months to “explore” his attitudes to driving and alcohol.
