A former Dundee United player was found slumped in a drug-induced stupor over an unconscious woman with his legs dangling out of the driver’s door of his car.
The car’s engine was still warm when Lee McElwee and his girlfriend, Angela Simpson, were discovered in a heavily drugged state by her daughter earlier this week.
Perth Sheriff Court was told on Wednesday that the couple had been “looking for keys” when they were in the Renault Megane and had become comatose after taking drugs.
Depute fiscal Lisa Marshall said: “Just before 10pm, the accused’s partner’s daughter received a call from a friend to say they were in a car, apparently unconscious.
“She was nearby and found her mother and the accused within the car. She was unable to rouse either of them. The daughter believed they were both under the influence of heroin and she called an ambulance.
“Police attended and found the accused in the driver’s seat. He was rolling his eyes and was slumped over the centre console. He was resting on top of his partner, who was also unresponsive.”
The court heard that both were taken to Perth Royal Infirmary. McElwee was arrested a short time later and was assessed by a police doctor, who ruled that his condition was impaired and he was unfit to drive.
Defence solicitor John McLaughlin said: “When he was seen by the police, Mr McElwee’s legs were out of the car. The driver’s door was open and his leg was out.”
He said the couple denied taking heroin but accepted that McElwee had taken his daily 80 mg of methadone and topped it up with a prescribed anti-depressant drug.
McElwee, 37, Gellyburn Road, Almondbank, admitted being in charge of a car while he was unfit through drink or drugs on Monday.
He also admitted driving without insurance and over the course of the weekend, when his licence had been revoked. Sheriff Lindsay Foulis banned McElwee from driving for 21 months and fined him £400.