The former chairman of Raith Rovers football club has been fined £1,000 for causing a car containing two pensioners to crash and flip on a Fife road.
Ronald Thomson, 73, and Elizabeth Thomson, 70, were injured after their Subaru Forrester flipped onto its roof on the B942 at the junction with the A917, near Pittenweem.
Alexander Penman merged onto the A917 and straight into the path of the Thomsons’ car last September.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard how Mr Thomson suffered two broken fingers and a head wound while Mrs Thomson sustained whiplash.
Penman was fined but escaped a road ban after a letter pleading guilty was submitted on his behalf by solicitors.
The retired businessman, 69, served as chairman of Raith Rovers from 1994 until 1997.
Penman was inducted into the club’s hall of fame in 2017 and was lauded for his injection of funds which led the Stark’s Park club to the League Cup in 1994.
A summary of evidence provided to the court described how Penman’s Mercedes collided with the offside bumper of the Subaru driven by Mr Thomson.
This caused the car to flip onto its roof and leave the couple injured.
Penman, of St Brycedale Avenue, Kirkcaldy, made no response to being cautioned and charged by police.
Blinded by the sun
A letter submitted by Penman’s solicitors, Kirkcaldy-based firm McKenzies, stated Penman “cautiously” approached the junction prior to the crash and was momentarily blinded by low sun.
The letter read: “At the time of the collision, he was either stationary or travelling at less than walking pace.
“The other vehicle collided with the front driver’s side of Mr Penman’s vehicle.
“Prior to the collision, Mr Penman had stopped to check for traffic on the main road before beginning to emerge from the junction.
“He did not see the vehicle driven by the complainer as he commenced his manoeuvre and was only aware of the vehicle at the time of impact.
“He was momentarily blinded by the sun shining through a break in the clouds.”
Penman pled to driving carelessly on September 2 last year by merging onto the road when unsafe to do so and colliding with Mr Thomson’s car, causing it to flip onto its roof, causing injury and extensive damage.
The court heard how both vehicles were written-off as a result of the crash.
Sheriff Ian Anderson fined him £1,000 and imposed six penalty points in his licence.
