A driver was using cruise control when he caused a horrific smash that severely injured another motorist on the A96.
Damian Kukulski took a sharp bend on the dual carriageway near Mill of Pitcaple too fast and his car veered off the road and hit the barrier.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard how the 35-year-old’s vehicle then rebounded off the crash barrier and ended up facing oncoming traffic in the opposing lane.
The resulting smash left another driver trapped in his vehicle with serious injuries that hospitalised him for over a week. More than one year on and he still receives physiotherapy as a result of the crash.
Kukulski pleaded guilty to one charge of driving dangerously on the A96 westbound road between Huntly and Inverurie on November 10, 2020.
He was also on bail at the time.
Fiscal depute Lynne MacVicar told the court that other drivers on the A96 had spotted Kukulski taking the bend too fast at around 8pm.
The driver in the opposing lane witnessed Kukulski’s car careering off the road and strike a crash barrier before rebounding onto his side of the road.
With no time to take evasive action, the driver’s car smashed into Kukulski’s.
A second vehicle – unable to see Kukulski’s car in the middle of the road – then also hit the vehicle.
Witnesses who approached the first victim’s vehicle saw the driver trapped inside and he was complaining about pain in his chest and legs.
Kukulski was found lying by the side of the road.
Ms MacVicar said: “The police, the ambulance service and the fire brigade were contacted and they attended a short while later.
“When they arrived the driver was still trapped within his vehicle and was complaining of pain down his right side, pain in his ribs and lower back and right side pelvic region.
“They also saw that he was struggling to breathe so he was extracted from the vehicle by the Grampian Fire and Rescue Service crew and taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
“The accused was treated for collarbone and shoulder injuries and he also had a laceration down his back.”
The other driver suffered a broken pelvis, three broken vertebrae, a ruptured diaphragm and a collapsed lung.
He was kept in hospital for eight days and was on crutches for two months.
Ms MacVicar added that the man still receives receive physiotherapy as he continues his recovery.
‘He accepts completely he was driving at excessive speed’
Defence agent Tony Burgess told the court that Kukulski has “very little recollection” of the incident.
He said: “He accepts completely that he was driving at excessive speed and had set his cruise control at 50mph and that would have been too fast for that corner.
“What Mr Kukulski is hoping to convey to the court is his commitment to making even the wrong that occurred on someone who was simply driving home that night and befell what thankfully wasn’t more serious than it turned out.”
Sheriff Andrew Miller told the 35-year-old that he had committed a “very serious driving offence and caused serious injuries” by driving dangerously.
He added: “The dangerous element of your driving was because you attempted to take a bend at excessive speed.”
As an alternative to a prison sentence, Sheriff Miller handed Kukluski a community payback order with supervision for 12-months and ordered him to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.
He also banned Kukulski, of Justice Port, Aberdeen, from driving for 21 months.
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