A man has been jailed after he released the handbrake of a stranger’s car in Aberdeen, causing it to roll down a hill and crash into a wall.
Mark Forrest, 33, was on a night out with friends when he saw a car causing an obstruction at the top of Shiprow.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard that Forrest then walked over to the vehicle, put his hand in the window and released the handbrake.
The vehicle was a write-off after it rolled backwards down the hill and ploughed into a wall at the bottom.
When he reported himself to the police 40 minutes later, he told them that as soon as he released the brake he realised the “stupidity” of his actions and tried unsuccessfully to stop it.
Car was ultimately a write-off, court told
Fiscal depute Rebecca Thompson told the court that on the previous evening the vehicle had been parked on Shiprow by its owner and secured by the handbrake.
At around 2am on July 26 2020 the police were on the nearby Market Street when they were made aware that a vehicle had collided with a wall on Shiprow.
Ms Thompson said: “The car was found to have a smashed driver side window, that was there before the crash.
“However, the collision with the wall had caused a significant impact to the rear of the vehicle.
“The vehicle was a write-off but already had damage to it prior to the crash.”
Around 40 minutes later Forrest approached two police officers and admitted to them he had released the handbrake of the vehicle for “no other reason than that he was drunk at the time,” Ms Thompson added.
Forrest went on to state that he immediately realised the stupidity of his actions and had made efforts to stop the car from rolling down the hill.
However, due to the gradient of the hill, he was unable to catch it.
Forrest pleaded guilty to one charge of culpably and recklessly releasing the handbrake of the car causing it to collide with a wall.
‘It seems you have a clear disregard for responsibility’
Defence agent Stephanie Milligan told the court that on the night in question her client had been “out with friends socialising”.
She added: “He saw the car abandoned and saw people struggling to get past it.
“He then reached inside the broken driver’s window and released the handbrake.
“Mr Forrest immediately told police what had happened and he takes full responsibility for his actions.”
Ms Milligan said her client “wanted to apologise to the court and understands the consequences of his actions”.
Sheriff Lindsay Foulis told Forrest he was annoyed with him for admitting his crime to the police and then choosing to plead not guilty during his first hearing in court.
He also told him that he “didn’t have to be a scientific genius to realise that if you release a handbrake on Shiprow, then the car was going to roll down the hill”.
Sheriff Foulis added: “Having regard towards your actions on the date in question and your admissions to the police and your subsequent instruction to get your solicitors to plead not guilty, it seems you have a clear disregard for responsibility.
“Eventually you plead guilty to the charge, but in my view custody is the only option.”
The sheriff handed Forrest, of Meadowbank, Inverurie, a total of five months in prison.
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