A woman has been disqualified after leaving a man requiring a wheelchair after a horrific A90 crash.
Amanda McMurchie was convicted of causing serious injury by driving carelessly on October 26 2022.
The 42-year-old, who works for a pharmaceutical company in Dundee, pulled out in front of a van driving southbound, near Forfar.
Driver Daniel Dillon and passenger Stephen McLaren were both wearing seatbelts and travelling at around 60mph when McMurchie pulled in front of them.
Mr Dillon – who spent time in a coma – remained in hospital until after Christmas that year and Mr McLaren spent a fortnight in Ninewells.
At Forfar Sheriff Court, uninjured mum-of-three McMurchie was found guilty, fined and disqualified from driving.
Horrific A90 collision
McMurchie pulled across Lochlands Junction towards Forfar at around 3pm, having been driving northbound from Dundee.
Her Volvo XC60 crossed into the path of Mr Dillon’s Vauxhall Combo van and he had no time to react.
The men had spent the previous two days working in Aberdeen and were driving home to Coatbridge.
Now a wheelchair user, Mr Dillon, 61, told the trial: “I was in the outside lane. I was overtaking cars earlier on.
“The lady just pulled out in front of me.
“It was over in a flash, it must have been shock.
“The engine came right through.”
He suffered a fractured sternum and broke two ribs.
Hospital nightmare
He and Mr McLaren were both rushed to Ninewells.
Five days later, he was admitted to ICU following a deterioration in his condition, intubated and ventilated, with significant inflammation of his lung.
Mr Dillon required prolonged respiratory support and was assessed to have adult respiratory distress syndrome, believed to have been brought on by trauma or infection and fluid overload.
On November 6, his condition worsened significantly again, due to presumed septic shock and a further CT scan showed he had a twisted bowel.
Surgery was needed and more than a week later, he underwent a percutaneous tracheostomy to facilitate his removal from mechanical ventilation.
Twenty-seven days after the collision, he was transferred to his local hospital at Monklands in Airdrie and remained in ICU.
When asked if he had fully recovered Mr Dillon said: “Nowhere near it, I still can’t work.”
He added: “I’ve been stuck in my house for 14 months.
“I was told I was delirious and it might last a year.”
No time to react
Painter Mr McLaren, also 61, told the trial: “It was a really nice day. We were just driving home.
“By the time the car pulled out, it was too late for any reaction at all to stop.
“I was in Ninewells for 14 days.”
He also had a fractured sternum and two broken ribs and two fractures to vertebrae were also found.
He was on morphine and a nebuliser and discharged after 14 days and still suffers back pain.
Indicator confusion
First offender McMurchie, of Bractullo Gardens in Letham, had no significant injuries.
She told the court she drives the A90 stretch almost every day.
She told the court she believed Mr Dillon was signalling to leave the carriageway before he reached her.
Both men said the van’s indicator was off when it approached the junction.
She said: “I was sitting, waiting to cross the junction. I think there were two cars in front of me.
“Once they had crossed, I stopped. I saw the white van.
“From what I can remember, the whole time it was in my vision it had its indicator on.”
The court heard from road traffic expert George Gilfillan that the junction is intrinsically dangerous.
He said had Mr Dillon been turning right, there would have only been a 40-metre deceleration lane and his destination would have been agricultural land, or to complete a u-turn.
Convicted
Earlier in proceedings, McMurchie wrote to the court to plead guilty to causing serious injury by driving carelessly.
She later withdrew her plea and opted to stand trial.
Sheriff Krista Johnston said: “In respect of the evidence, I accept from the expert witness that this is a difficult junction.
“That does increase the requirement for crossers of the junction to take particular care.
“I do accept the evidence of the driver Mr Dillon and his passenger.
“Even if the indicator had been on, that doesn’t necessarily mean someone progressing in the right hand lane was going to turn right.
“There was evidence that its difficult to judge speed – I accept that. That adds to the difficulties for the accused.
“I do find that she is guilty of the charge before me.”
Sentencing
The sheriff added: “It’s always a difficult sentencing exercise for the court to decide how to deal with offences of this nature.
“The reason is that the level of culpability and criminal responsibility on your part is, on the one hand, towards the lower end but the harm you inflicted as a consequence of the criminal act of driving in this way in this case has been considerable.
“I have no doubt for that someone of your age, with no record and who has had a prosocial life, that will remain with you for some considerable time.”
The sheriff imposed an 18-month driving ban and fined McMurchie £800.
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