A dangerous driver who crashed while under the influence of alcohol and cocaine has been warned his actions could have had “tragic” consequences.
Ian Crampshee got behind the wheel following a row with his girlfriend in the early hours of May 24 last year.
But the 45-year-old, who had been drinking during the day and taken what he thought was diazepam for back pain but turned out to contain cocaine, crashed into parked cars on Westburn Road, Aberdeen.
Cops found Crampshee dazed, confused, and unstable on his feet and promptly arrested him. He then failed a breath test and drug wipe.
Fiscal depute Tom Procter told Aberdeen Sheriff Court: “Around 12.15am on May 24 2020 police received a number of calls regarding a three-vehicle collision.
‘It’s drivers like this that can cause absolute tragedy’
“They attended and noted the accused standing out with his vehicle.
“It appeared to them the accused had been driving westbound and collided with the stationary, parked vehicles.”
Officers noted Crampshee appeared “dazed, confused, and slurring his words”.
They also spotted “powder residue” around his mouth, and he was unstable on his feet.
He was arrested and taken to the police station, where he provided a breath sample with 24 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 22 microgrammes.
A drug wipe also tested positive for cocaine.
A blood sample showed 45 milligrams of alcohol in 100ml of blood, just below the limit of 50 milligrams, but 30 microgrammes of cocaine per litre of blood, three times the limit.
Crampshee, of Cornhill Drive, Aberdeen, pled guilty to a charge of dangerous driving, by driving while intoxicated, losing control of his vehicle and crashing, causing extensive damage to vehicles and injuring himself.
‘Terribly serious matter’
Sheriff Donald Ferguson said: “This is a shocking incident. It’s drivers like this that can cause absolute tragedy. It was stationary cars on this occasion, on another occasion it may have been pedestrians.”
Defence agent Gail Goodfellow said it was “not initially his intention to drive at all that day”.
She explained he had planned to stay at his partner’s address, had been drinking during the day and had consumed “what he thought was diazepam” to help with his backpain.
But when the couple had an argument he “stupidly” took the decision to drive.
Mrs Goodfellow added: “He understands it’s extremely fortunate no one was injured and the damage to the other vehicles has been met by his insurance.”
Sheriff Ferguson told Crampshee the offence was a “terribly serious matter” and “could have been an absolute tragedy for yourself and other people”.
He banned him from driving for three years and fined him £1,040.
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