A soldier has admitted mowing down and seriously injuring four of his colleagues while they were on an early morning training run.
Kristofer Smith’s mates Dean Tudor, Craig Smith, Alan Bowe and Alan Murray has just left their base at Fort George, near Ardersier, when the horror crash occurred in January last year.
They had barely started their run when Smith’s 1.2 hatchback ploughed into them at sunrise.
One of the Black Watch 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland troops was flown to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness by air ambulance, while the other three were taken by road ambulances.
None had life-threatening injuries, but all were seriously injured.
Because of the location and people involved, it was thought the crash may have been a terrorist incident – but police quickly ruled that out to re-assure the public, describing it as “a serious road traffic incident.”
Smith, 33, was initially charged with dangerous driving.
At Inverness Sheriff Court yesterday, Smith’s solicitor, Claire Russell, confirmed that her client would be pleading guilty to a charge of careless driving.
She said: “This was a plea offered earlier but was not accepted by the Crown. However it is now acceptable.”
The accident occurred on a straight stretch of the Old Military Road which links the military base and the village of Ardersier on January 19, 2015.
Locals speculated that Smith, driving a Volkswagen, was blinded by the low morning sun. He was not hurt in the collision.
The road was closed for about 90 minutes as police carried out an investigation at the scene.
Several pieces of bodywork from the car were left on the grass verge close to where the collision happened
After the police investigations were concluded, Smith of Wester Craigs, Inverness, was charged with dangerous driving.
It was alleged that Smith caused the serious injury of the four soldiers by driving dangerously and at excessive speed for the road conditions, fail to maintain a proper observation of the road in front and collide with and injure the four pedestrians.
Miss Russell then explained to Sheriff David Sutherland that Smith was due to go abroad next week for seven weeks and asked for sentence to be deferred until his return.
The Sheriff agreed and called for a background report on Smith, who had no previous convictions. Fiscal depute Karen Smith was not required to narrate the facts at that stage and he will re-appear for sentence on September 27 when full details will emerge.
A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman confirmed that military personnel had been injured in the incident but declined to comment further.
ends