A dangerous drink-driver ignored pleas to slow down before crashing into a tree.
Matthew Hogg – who boasted “I know what I’m doing” as he skidded and swerved on roads around Lossiemouth – lost control of the car and crashed head-on, causing three of the occupants serious injury.
When police arrived he told them he wasn’t the driver – a lie that fell apart when all his passengers identified him as being behind the wheel.
Hogg, 21, appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court to admit causing serious injury by dangerous driving, as well as drink-driving and driving without insurance.
Fiscal depute Susan Love told the court that on February 12 of 2022 Hogg offered to take a group of teenagers for a “spin in his car” and came to pick them up.
She said: “The accused proceeded to drive around the Lossiemouth area.
“The accused drove in a dangerous manner on various roads in and around Lossiemouth, travelling at 60mph in a built-up area, contravening a red traffic signal and attempting to cause the rear of the vehicle to skid at corners.”
‘I know what I’m doing’
The court heard that Hogg was asked to slow down on “numerous occasions” and refused to let one of the passengers out of the car when they asked, stating: “I know what I’m doing.”
But as he drove along the unclassified road between Pitairlie Farm Cottages and Pitgavenny Cottages at high speed, Hogg lost control of the vehicle and collided head-on with a tree.
Emergency services were called but when they arrived all the occupants were outside of the “extensively damaged” car.
Hogg denied he had been behind the wheel, claiming the actual driver had “made off” from the scene, but was identified by his passengers.
He failed a roadside breath alcohol test and further testing revealed his level to be 31 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of breath – the legal limit being 22 microgrammes.
He was later cautioned and charged.
Sheriff calls driving ‘shocking’
One passenger suffered a fractured wrist and seat belt injuries and needed a cast for three weeks, another needed a sling for six weeks for a broken clavicle and was left with a “large bony lump” when it healed.
Another passenger suffered soft tissue damage to his arm while a fourth was transferred to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary suffering from a lung contusion and haematoma in the abdominal wall. He now has a permanent scar as a result of the medical intervention.
Solicitor David Patterson, for Hogg, reserved his comments in mitigation for the sentencing hearing, which was adjourned for the production of reports.
Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald told Hogg, of John Street, Aberdeen: “We are very lucky that we are not dealing with fatalities today – yours or other people in the car.”
She called his driving “shocking” and banned him from the roads with immediate effect – although she warned him that she planned to make this for a “significant period” when the case next calls.
