A disqualified drink-driver who caused a horror smash which left his friend fighting for his life was spared jail yesterday.
Jamielee Finnie was banned from the roads and sentenced to 200 hours unpaid work for his role in the crash, which happened near Crimond on May 2 last year.
Peterhead Sheriff Court heard the 24-year-old was almost twice the legal alcohol limit when he lost control of his car and careered off the A90 Peterhead to Fraserburgh road.
Finnie’s front-seat passenger Jamie Wright was seriously injured when the vehicle ploughed into a roadside tree.
The damage to the blue Vauxhall Corsa was so severe that the pair were left trapped inside the wreckage and emergency crews battled for three hours to cut them free.
Mr Wright, who was then 22, suffered multiple fractures to his legs and a head injury and had to be airlifted to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
Police initially described his condition as “extremely serious”, while friends said he was lucky to have survived.
Finnie – who suffered blackouts following the crash – was also badly hurt but discharged himself from hospital later that evening.
The Fraserburgh man appeared at court for sentencing yesterday after he previously admitted driving without due care and attention to others and failing to keep his vehicle under control in the early hours of May 2, 2013.
Finnie also admitted driving while disqualified, without insurance and with no MoT certificate, and while almost twice the drink-drive limit.
The accident happened only months after he was banned from driving for 16 months as the result of a justice of the peace offence in March 2013.
Yesterday Sheriff Andrew Miller told him: “This was clearly a chain of events which had a serious consequence on your health and that of your friend Mr Wright. But I need to deal with the criminal law aspects.
“For the charge of drink driving which involved a very high reading of blood alcohol, I impose a 20-month disqualification which has been reduced from 30 months due to your early plea of guilty.
“In relation to the other three offences your license will be endorsed to show you have these convictions.
“I also impose a community payback order for which you will undertake 200 hours of unpaid work in the community.
“I am imposing this order as an alternative to custody.”
Sheriff Miller added that this sentence had also been reduced from 300 hours on account of Finnie’s early plea of guilty.
The court had been told that Finnie and Mr Wright – who originally faced criminal charges of “aiding and abetting” – drank an entire bottle of Bell’s Whisky and a bottle of Disaronno in the hours before the crash.
Mr Wright’s not-guilty pleas to all four charges were accepted by the Crown.
Procurator Fiscal Pauline Oakley said police received intelligence that the vehicle was travelling on the Peterhead to Crimond road at around 3.10am.
“The car came off the road and hit a tree, trapping the accused and Mr Wright in the vehicle,” she said.
“At around 5am a passing car stopped and called 999. Police and fire services attended and firefighters assumed the accused was the driver.”
She told Sheriff Miller that Finnie, of West Shore Gardens, Fraserburgh, was found behind the wheel without any shoes on.
“At the time Mr Wright’s injuries were believed to be life-threatening and remained that way for two weeks,” she added.
Seventeen firefighters from Peterhead and Maud were called to the scene, along with two ambulances from Peterhead and Fraserburgh. The air ambulance was also sent from Inverness.
The wreckage of the small hatchback was left on the grass verge, with the remains of the tree sticking out from the passenger side, and the road was closed for almost seven hours.
Finnie now has 12 months to complete his 200 hours community payback order.