A man who fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into another car, flipping it on its side, has admitted careless driving.
Inverness Sheriff Court heard that Mariusz Zieba had been driving along the A862 outside the Dingwall Mart on December 13 2019 when he dropped off, allowing his vehicle to cross into the opposite lane.
He collided with a car travelling in the opposite direction, flipping it onto its side and leaving the other driver with bruised ribs, neck and back and a sprained right thumb.
Fiscal Depute Pauline Gair said: “The accused’s vehicle drifted across the carriageway into the path of the oncoming vehicle.
“The other vehicle was flipped on to the passenger side, eventually coming to rest on the cycle path.”
Driver had ‘no recollection’Â incident
She added: “The accused admitted that he had fallen asleep.”
Solicitor Graham Mann for Zieba, who admitted a single charge of careless driving, told the court his client had been at work on the day of the accident, and long hours combined with a problematic relationship had left him feeling stressed.
“He remembers being on the road before this,” said Mr Mann “But has no recollection of this incident.”
“There is nothing else sinister about this – he was just overtired.”
Sheriff Gary Aitken told Zieba, 40, of Coul Park, Alness, that he was fortunate the incident had not had more serious consequences for himself or the other driver.
He fined the father-of-three £395 and banned him from the roads for 15 weeks.
