A former head chef at Gleneagles has dodged a driving ban after ploughing his Mercedes Benz into a house along the street from the word famous hotel.
Shah Al Faysal smashed into the property on Orchil Road, Auchterarder, causing extensive damage, and told police: “I pressed the gas by mistake”.
The couple at the house, who slept through the crash, were forced to move out and restoration work is still ongoing some 10 months on.
The 33-year-old, who left his job as head chef at the five-star venue’s Dormy Restaurant following the incident in September, was originally charged with dangerous driving.
He appeared at Perth Sheriff Court for sentencing, having previously pled guilty to a lesser charge of careless driving.
Sheriff William Wood was told Al Faysal now works as a taxi driver in Newcastle, and losing his licence would cause his family to suffer.
Disruption and anxiety after crash
The sheriff said: “Clearly your behaviour caused a significant amount of distress to the householders.
“They have suffered a great deal of disruption and anxiety as a result of this, and their situation is taking some time to resolve.”
He told Al Faysal: “You drove carelessly and rather dangerously.
“Given you are a first offender and your family rely on your driving licence, I am prepared to deal with this without disqualification.”
Al Faysal had nine points added to his licence.
He was further ordered to carry out 70 hours of unpaid work.
“Should you get into any more driving misdemeanours, you will likely be disqualified under totting up provisions,” Sheriff Wood said.
Ex-Gleneagles chef lost control
Solicitor Billy Somerville, defending, said: “Mr Al Faysal doesn’t know what happened that night, whether he hit a rock or a hole in the road.
“But he found his car veering to the left and when he tried to correct that his foot unfortunately slipped and he pressed the accelerator instead of the brake.”
Mr Somerville said the fact that his two back seat passengers were uninjured suggested his client wasn’t travelling at speed.
“This appears to be a small period of time when he did something wrong,” the solicitor said. “If he hit the brake, he wouldn’t be here (in court).”
Loud bang alerted neighbour
Fiscal depute Elizabeth Hodgson said the accident happened at about 10.30pm on September 7.
A neighbour ran out into the street after hearing a loud bang outside.
He saw three men standing around a crashed Mercedes Benz, with its airbags deployed.
The men were interviewed by police and identified Al Faysal as the driver.
Ms Hodgson said the couple at the property came out, but had slept through the crash.
“They had to find alternative accommodation while a structural engineer assessed the building,” the fiscal depute said.
When cautioned by police, Al Faysal said: “I didn’t drive dangerously, I pressed the gas by mistake.”
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