A Romanian drink-driver caused chaos at one of Scotland’s busiest junctions after driving across the middle of a roundabout and ploughing into a traffic light pole.
The traffic lights on Inveralmond roundabout at Perth were knocked out for hours after waiter Robert Criste’s late-night smash on Monday.
Criste (23) appeared from custody at Perth Sheriff Court on Tuesday to plead guilty to driving while more than twice the legal alcohol limit.
Depute fiscal John Malpass said: ”At 10.40pm, a civilian witness travelling behind the vehicle driven by the accused was, at that time, travelling south on the A9 towards the Inveralmond roundabout.
”She observed the vehicle driving in an erratic manner and came to the conclusion the driver was under the influence of alcohol.”
She followed Criste’s Vauxhall Astra for half an hour along the A9 before his blunder when he got to the outskirts of Perth.
Mr Malpass said: ”At 11.10 the vehicle arrived at the Inveralmond roundabout but the accused failed to negotiate the roundabout, drove straight across it and collided with a traffic light pole.”
Despite the collision, Criste continued into Perth along Dunkeld Road and the witness called police.
”They found him a short distance away at Asda, with the vehicle damaged and smoke coming from the engine, which was still running, and the accused in the driver’s seat,” Mr Malpass said.
A reading of 72 mics of alcohol was taken from his breath sample. The legal limit is 35.
Not guilty pleas of failing to stop and report the accident and driving without a licence were accepted by the Crown.
Defence solicitor John Adams said his client holds a clean Romanian licence.
He said: ”He accepts there was no reasonable excuse for driving under the influence of alcohol and is fully willing to accept the sanction of the court.
”He was shocked by the incident and was scared once he crashed into the traffic lights being in a foreign country he fled the scene as he was scared.
”Once he stopped he realised what he’d done, the reality of the situation, and then the police arrived.”
He said Criste, whose address was given as the Pine Trees Hotel in Pitlochry, has a wife and child in Romania, to whom he sends the majority of his earnings.
Criste was fined £300 and disqualified from driving for 21 months.
The Inveralmond roundabout links the A9 with Perth bypass and also provides the northern route into Perth and access to a busy industrial park. There are four sets of traffic lights on the roundabout.
One Perth motorist said: ”It was chaotic scenes without the lights.”
Work to repair them was carried out throughout Tuesday.