Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Teen driver, 17, laughed at friend as he begged him to slow down moments before horror crash

Aidan Zimmerman's Corsa flipped into a field as he sped at 80mph on the A944 Alford to Whitehouse road.

Aidan Zimmerman was banned from the roads for two years at Aberdeen Sheriff Court. Image: Facebook.
Aidan Zimmerman was banned from the roads for two years at Aberdeen Sheriff Court. Image: Facebook.

A 17-year-old driver laughed in the face of his friend who told him to slow down moments before he crashed and flipped his speeding car into a field.

Aidan Zimmerman, now 20, caused serious injuries to his friends when his Vauxhall Corsa skidded on loose chippings, struck a verge and left the road.

Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard how Zimmerman gunned the engine to 80mph even as speed restrictions were in place on the A944 due to a road resurfacing.

Banning him from the roads for two years, Sheriff Philip Mann told Zimmerman he should consider himself lucky that the consequences were not “far more serious”.

Reached speeds of 80mph

Fiscal depute David Rogers told the court that on the evening of June 4 2022, Zimmerman and his friends had been approached by residents outside Alford Community Campus who “expressed unhappiness with the driving practices of those within the car park”.

As a result, Zimmerman decided to drive to Aberdeen to get some food with four passengers in the car.

Soon after exiting a petrol station in Alford, Zimmerman immediately increased the speed of his vehicle to more than 70mph.

One of his passengers saw that Zimmerman was driving far too close to other cars and was swerving out to suggest he was going to attempt to overtake when the manoeuvre was not possible.

Zimmerman thereafter increased his speed to 80mph in fourth gear causing the engine to rev loudly.

A short time later, Zimmerman’s passengers saw signs indicating that drivers should restrict their speed due to road surfacing works.

One passenger told Zimmerman to slow down and to be careful on the loose road chippings as they could make the road slippery.

Passenger ‘could not believe’ accused’s driving

At this point, Zimmerman took his eyes off the road and turned to laugh at his friend, while driving with only one hand on the steering wheel.

It was stated that the front seat passenger of the Corsa “could not believe” Zimmerman’s driving behaviour as he continued to drive at high speed and made no attempt to slow down.

Zimmerman’s car then made contact with the loose road chippings on the resurfaced road and he immediately started to lose control.

As Zimmerman braked sharply, the car began to swerve over to the other side of the carriageway where it struck a grass verge and flipped into the air.

A passing motorist described the car “bouncing” as it rolled several times in the field.

When the police arrived, Zimmerman identified himself as the driver of the car.

One passenger sustained a broken bone in his back and two broken bones in his neck, while another suffered injuries to his chest and lungs.

All have now made a full recovery.

In the dock, Zimmerman pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous driving.

Crash could have had ‘far more serious consequences’

Defence solicitor Liam Mcallister highlighted to the court that his client was only 17 at the time of the incident and has subsequently “recognised the error of his ways”.

“It is fair to say that Mr Zimmerman will suffer the emotional impact of this for the rest of his life – there has been nothing but genuine remorse conveyed by him,” the solicitor said.

“This has had a profound impact on him, and he recognises how fortunate he is that this isn’t even more serious.

“He knows he requires to be punished.”

Sheriff Philip Mann told Zimmerman: “I’m sure I do not have to tell you that this is a shocking piece of driving that could have resulted in far more serious consequences than what happened.

“You are lucky that your passengers, though injured, made a full recovery.”

He pointed out that a period in prison would be considered appropriate for this offence, but that he was required to take account of Zimmerman’s young age.

Sheriff Mann made Zimmerman, of Montgarrie, Alford, subject to a community payback order with supervision for 18 months and ordered him to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work.

He also banned Zimmerman from driving for two years and ordered that he will have to re-sit his driving test.

For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen as well as crime and breaking incidents, join our Facebook group.