Dramatic dashcam footage shows the moment an HGV smashes into an A90 flyover, causing months of travel disruption and costing hundreds of thousands of pounds in repairs.
Former marine Joeli Nakavulevu “misjudged” the height of the bridge as he motored down the busy dual carriageway, near Glencarse, Perthshire, on Halloween night 2019.
Video captured by a passing fuel tanker showed an explosion of water and concrete as the lorry transporting a digger collides with the overpass.
Part of the digger flew off and struck the tanker, rupturing its fuel tank.
Nakavulevu went on trial at Perth Sheriff Court, accused of dangerous driving by failing to take heed of his vehicle’s height before striking the crossing between Glencarse and St Madoes.
He was found guilty of a reduced charge of careless driving and allowed to keep his licence.
Sheriff Derek Reekie told the Filipino national, who already has three points on his licence: “Discretionary disqualification would be open to me but I am prepared to draw back from that given the very particular circumstance.
“This really is at the top end of carelessness and the consequences were very significant.”
Nakavulevu was fined £900 with eight penalty points imposed.
The late afternoon collision caused major damage to the bridge, Nakavulevu’s lorry and the passing tanker, the court heard.
‘He simply got the height wrong’
Solicitor Nick Whelan, defending, said: “It was always accepted that this was a (careless driving) offence.
“He simply got the height wrong.
“He misjudged the height of his load and the height of the bridge.
“It was a momentary lapse. There was no evidence of anything wrong with his driving, prior to his vehicle striking the bridge.”
Mr Whelan said his client was in the process of claiming British citizenship.
“He was working as a driver at the time and had been instructed to pick up a digger.
“It’s not a job he had done before. He normally moves smaller equipment.”
Mr Whelan added: “He believes that his line manager was responsible but I won’t say any more than that.”
The court heard that Nakavulevu, of Railton Crescent, Arbroath, now works in security for a Birmingham company and needs his licence to travel to work.
The ex-Royal Marines officer hopes to return to the military and is pursuing a career in the RAF.
‘A cloud of water’
Diesel tanker driver James Meikle told the court he was travelling eastbound on the A90, near Glencarse, behind Nakavulevu’s truck on the A90.
The crash happened as he pulled into the second lane to overtake.
“It happened in a split second,” Mr Meikle said.
“There was just a cloud of water like a pipe in the bridge had ruptured.”
He said he stopped about 100 yards further down the road to check his vehicle.
“There was two massive gashes in my fuel tank,” he said.
“Liquid was just pouring out. The tank emptied in seconds.
“That’s when I jumped back in the cab and called 999.”
He said: “A bit of the digger – it looked like the bucket – was lying on the road, across the white line.
“I think that’s what struck me.”
Road closed
Police Constable Neil Collin was one of the first officers on the scene.
He told the trial he saw Nakavulevu’s lorry sitting underneath the “significantly damaged” flyover.
“I could not confirm the integrity of the bridge,” PC Collin, 37, said.
“I had to call in an engineer to assess the damage.
“The bridge was closed, as was the carriageway underneath it.
“I could not confirm if it was safe for traffic to go under the bridge.”
Nakavulevu was breathalysed while he was checked over in an ambulance at the scene.
He gave a negative reading.
PC Collin said there were no ‘low bridge’ warning signs in place because the flyover’s height was more than 16ft 6in.
He said bridge heights were listed on Traffic Scotland’s website.
Local businesses hit
Full details of the impact of the collision were not heard in court.
The busy route was finally reopened in November 2020 – more than a year later – after £650,000 worth of repairs.
Although the 13-month closure did not affect traffic on the A90, the bridge was the only direct link between Glencarse and St Madoes.
Local businesses said their trade was badly hit during the closure.
