A sheriff criticised an American motorist for getting behind the wheel of her car after drinking wine and then causing a serious road accident.
Rebecca Darden had consumed a glass of wine before she pulled into the path of an oncoming car near Auldearn.
The resulting smash left the driver and passenger of the other vehicle seriously injured, Inverness Sheriff Court heard.
Darden, from Balnageith, near Forres, was also hurt in the collision and appeared for sentencing after previously admitting causing serious injury by dangerously driving into the path of another vehicle at a junction of the B9111 with the A96.
The court was previously told she had only been driving in this country for six months.
Crash caught on dashcam
Fiscal depute Alison Young told the court the incident happened just before 4.30pm on April 29 of last year.
Darden’s Mercedes A class was spotted at the junction of the A96 and the B9111 – east of Nairn.
Witnesses reported seeing the vehicle “pull out into the path” of an oncoming car – driven by a 64-year-old man, said Mrs Young.
His 65-year-old wife was in the passenger seat.
The resulting collision – captured on dashcam – caused the oncoming car to “spin” before coming to rest in the road.
Darden’s vehicle also ended up stationary in the carriageway.
The driver of the other vehicle required surgery to insert plates into his arm, which left him with a 12-inch scar.
He also suffered a fracture to the small of his back.
His passenger suffered a fractured wrist and breastbone.
‘You should never have got behind the wheel’
Sheriff Gary Aitken praised one of the victims, who thanked the police and medical staff in his impact statement.
He said: “It makes clear the debt that society owes to the emergency services.”
Darden, who is applying for British citizenship, was disqualified from driving for a year and ordered to resit her driving test.
She was also ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work as an alternative to custody and placed under 18 months of social work supervision.
Sheriff Aitken added: “This has had life-long consequences for the individuals in the other vehicle, leaving them with an inability to enjoy life the same.
“You should never have got behind the wheel of a car that day.
“There can be awful consequences and the ones here are bad enough but could have been much worse.”