A drug-fuelled road crash which claimed the lives of two men has been described by a sheriff as a “needless and tragic accident”.
James Williamson was high on a cocktail of drugs when he swerved “violently” into the path of Leven man Mark Brodie.
A fatal accident inquiry last month heard that Mr Brodie, 48, was conscious when found by a passing motorist, but died shortly afterwards.
Mr Williamson, 47, died instantly from his injuries.
The crash happened on the A9 near Dunkeld on February 26, last year.
Sheriff Christopher Shead who oversaw the inquest published his findings.
He said: “The making of a determination depends on the court being prepared to draw a series of inferences from the evidence: that the late Mr Williamson had consumed heroin and diazepam, that he was under the influence of those drugs at the time of the accident, that the drugs had reduced his state of alertness and that his state at the time was a material factor in the occurrence of the accident.”
He said he accepted the evidence, supporting claims that “if Mr Williamson had not taken drugs or, if having done so, he had refrained from driving the death of the late Mr Brodie might have been avoided.”
Witness Craig Wemyss, 46, told the inquiry he was behind Mr Williamson’s car as it travelled along the left-hand side of the northbound dual carriageway.
Mr Wemyss, who tried to call emergency services but lost his phone signal, said he saw the car career off the road and into chevron signs, before coming back into the flow of traffic.
Perth Sheriff Court heard that Mr Williamson’s green Citron Xsara “veered violently” into the southbound carriageway and collided with Mr Brodie’s silver Vauxhall Vectra.
A post-mortem examination found that Mr Brodie died from multiple injuries and a “blunt force trauma”.