A man who led police on a high-speed chase through Aberdeen, before crashing into a wall and fleeing the scene, has been banned from driving.
Wayne McAllan was wet, muddy and covered in cuts when he was found hiding by police dogs following the incident in the early hours of Sunday, March 3.
After “difficulties” while drinking at home with his partner in Cove, the 32-year-old got behind the wheel of her red Audi A1 so he could visit a friend and talk through his situation.
But things escalated when police officers spotted McAllan “straddling” the central road markings and began following him.
Realising officers were behind him, he hurtled down Riverside Drive and Holburn Street at “excessive speeds”.
McAllan overtook a car while on a blind bend, tore through junctions and failed to slow down at a roundabout.
He slipped police as he approached Garthdee but was caught when officers called in reinforcements.
McAllan appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday having admitted dangerous driving, and driving with excess alcohol in his system.
Fiscal depute, Lynne Macvicor, said that when police found the car “crashed into a wall on Garthdee Road” the accused was nowhere to be seen.
She added: “Dog handlers deployed dogs to trace the accused, who was found in Auchinyell Road – not far from the collision site – muddy, wet and having cuts to his face consistent with being involved in a road traffic collision.”
McAllan told police he had been driving his partner’s car, then gave a test showing he had 78 microgrammes of alcohol in his system per 100ml of breath – more than three times the 22mcg limit.
His solicitor Graham Murray said: “He is genuinely extremely sorry for how he behaved.”
Sheriff Donald Ferguson said: “This ended in an accident and could have ended in an injury, or a fatal accident.
“It was just sheer good fortune that didn’t happen.”
McAllan, of Whitehills Lane South, was banned from driving for three years and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work within the next six months.