A reckless 16-year-old Aberdeen joyrider managed to evade police for 30 hours as he drove dangerously in Inverness and Moray.
The boy, who is now 17 and cannot be named for legal reasons, was warned he would be locked up, with a sheriff telling him: “You are clearly not a fit person to be freed.”
In a series of dangerous and life-threatening incidents that spanned 30 hours in Inverness and Moray, the boy:
- Drove straight at police officers in Inverness causing them to dive out of the way
- Deliberately crashed head-on into another car
- Sped along pavements striking road signs
- Forced other cars to take evasive action as he sped through Keith on the wrong side of the road
Give police officers the finger
Inverness Sheriff Court was told the incidents took place over March 10 and 11 last year.
Fiscal depute Emily Hood said police first were drawn to the attention of the teen when he drove at speed through a pedestrian archway in Lombard Street, Inverness, at 12.20am and refused to stop when signalled to do so by three police constables on foot patrol.
Ms Hood said: “The accused accelerated and drove directly towards them all, two of them having to take evasive action by jumping to the left to avoid being struck.
“He stuck his middle finger up at them.
“He then veered his vehicle to the left towards one of the officers who had to suddenly move behind a set of metal bollards to avoid being struck.”
The silver Subaru, with a 55 plate, then drove through Inverness and was lost to view.
CCTV picked it up being driven along Academy Street and it was traced to Clachnaharry Road by a police vehicle but it sped away. Ms Hood said no pursuit of it was authorised.
The teenager was located about 11pm later that day in the Merkinch area after it struck another vehicle on Kessock Avenue.
Joyrider mounted pavement
The occupants of that car followed the teenager and saw it drive the wrong way along Pumpgate Street.
One of the witnesses jumped out the vehicle to take a photograph of the Subaru, only for the youth to drive towards her and she was pulled to safety by her partner.
Their vehicle was then struck head-on by the Subaru, which then hit a parking sign and mounted the pavement before driving off.
The youth was spotted by an off-duty constable half an hour later at the Esso garage in the Longman.
A police car attempted to stop him from driving away, but the unlicensed driver quickly reversed out of the forecourt and disappeared into the night along the A96.
The court heard it was spotted about 75 minutes later in the Moray area and then again about 2.10am in Keith, when it was seen driving at speed on the opposing carriageway to the danger of others.
Ms Hood said 2.35am on March 11 the Subaru struck the rear of another vehicle on an unclassified road at Whitehill, Keith.
Boy found asleep at the wheel
At 6.40am, police received a call that the vehicle was abandoned in the middle of the road and was causing an obstruction on Grampian Road, Elgin.
“Police attended and observed the accused in the driver’s seat, apparently asleep. He was arrested,” Ms Hood concluded.
The 17-year-old admitted three charges of driving dangerously and two of assault to danger of life.
Sheriff Gary Aitken warned the youth: “Detention is a probability.”
He remanded the boy in custody until March 16 for a background report and questioned what the teenager, who lives over 100 miles away in Aberdeen, was doing in Inverness.
He added that the youth “showed a staggering lack of consideration” for himself and those around him.