A coked-up lorry driver who was 16 times the drug-drive limit during a double fatal road crash has been spared jail.
Former soldier Alan MacDonald was involved in a collision with a rented Mercedes C200 on the A9 near Dunkeld on October 6 last year.
The male driver and female passenger of the car, understood to be holidaymakers, died at the scene.
Perth Sheriff Court heard how tipper truck driver MacDonald failed a roadside drugs test shortly after the smash.
The 38-year-old, who was not responsible for the tragedy and is now suing the car-hire firm, returned to the dock for sentencing, having previously pled guilty to being behind the wheel with cocaine in his system.
Custody alternative
Sheriff Alison McKay told him: “You will appreciate that this is a serious matter.
“I fully understand that you were involved in an accident, the circumstances of which would have been very difficult for everyone concerned.”
She said: “There is no suggestion that you were at fault in terms of the accident.
“The difficulty is that thereafter the police tested you and discovered you were well over the legal limit.
“You were not only driving, you were driving a lorry in the course of your employment and that makes it a serious matter and one of the considerations before the court has to be custody.
“That said, I am satisfied that there is an alternative available.”
MacDonald was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and banned from driving for a year.
Quit job before guilty plea
Fiscal depute Stephanie Hendry previously told the court that MacDonald was involved in a collision while travelling south along the A9, between Bankfoot and Birnam, just after 5.30pm.
Police spoke to him at about 7pm and confirmed he was driving the tipper truck.
MacDonald complied with roadside tests and returned a zero reading for alcohol but he tested positive for cocaine.
He was arrested and taken to Ninewells Hospital but was discharged later that night.
MacDonald, of Dunkeld Road, Perth, pled guilty to a charge of having 800 mics of benzoylecgonine – a metabolite of cocaine – per 100ml of blood.
The permitted limit is 50 mics.
His lawyer said he had handed in his notice with employers Mills Contractors just before the case first called last month.
MacDonald, who was a soldier for 14 years and served in Afghanistan, Northern Ireland and the Falkland Islands, has a new job as a fencer.
“Mr MacDonald had taken cocaine the night before,” his solicitor said.
“By the time he came to drive the vehicle, he was no longer feeling the effects of the drug.”
He confirmed his client is now taking legal action against the car-hire firm responsible for the Mercedes after he was left with PTSD as a result of the crash.
The identities of those killed have never been made public.
After the crash, the A9 was shut for more than 13 hours, with drivers forced into a 31-mile diversion.
At the time, Perth-based Sergeant David Farr issued an appeal for witnesses and dash cam footage.
He said: “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the man and woman who died following this crash.”
There is much more local court content at our dedicated page here, or join our Facebook page.
