A Dundee man nearly killed in a Boxing Day car crash says his former friend should not be jailed for his dangerous driving.
Doctors did not think Stewart Myles would make it through the night after he was pulled from the flaming wreckage of the car two years ago.
The 21-year-old had gone for a late-night drive with Ryan Willis, when Willis lost control and collided with a tree while overtaking another friend’s car on a blind bend on the A933 near the Angus village of Friockheim.
Willis admitted a charge of dangerous driving in court earlier this month and will be sentenced in August.
Stewart has now spoken about the incident, saying: “I can’t remember too much about the accident itself, but I remember the brakes going on and thinking something wasn’t right.
“The next thing I remember is seeing the brightness of the flames from burning fuel before I blacked out again.
“I woke up when a friend from the other car was pulling me out of the wreckage. I remember looking at my foot and seeing the bone pushing against the skin and knowing I’d broken it. It turns out I had broken both feet and my jaw. I had also snapped both my front teeth.”
Stewart, from Mill o’ Mains, needed to have metal screws and pins inserted into both feet and subsequently spent five weeks in hospital and a further three months in a wheelchair. He has since developed painful arthritis in both feet, leaving him unable to stand for longer than 15 minutes at a time.
He said he’d spoken to Willis only briefly since the crash.
“He apologised to me when I was in hospital, but that has been it,” he said.
“I’m angry about what happened. There was no reason for him to overtake when he did.”
He added: “I don’t think he should go to prison, but he should definitely lose his licence and get a ban.”