A former Inverness lawyer who was sacked after causing a near fatal car crash is now bidding to become a Highland councillor.
Emma Knox has thrown her hat in the ring to be the SNP’s candidate to succeed Drew Hendry, who represented Aird and Loch Ness on the local authority.
He recently stepped down after being elected as MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey.
Mrs Knox, a former pupil of Elgin Academy, and several other potential SNP candidates took part in a hustings event in Drumnadrochit on Monday night.
Now SNP members in the ward will choose their preferred candidate to contest the by-election.
Mrs Knox declined to comment yesterday.
Mrs Knox, whose parents live in Elgin, got the top prosecutor’s job in Inverness in 2009.
She was dismissed from her position just weeks after she admitted causing a crash which nearly claimed her life and that of another motorist.
The mother-of-two suffered serious skull, neck and rib fractures, as well as nerve and brain damage when she hit a van head-on while overtaking a lorry on the A862 Inverness-Beauly road at Lentran in December 2012. She spent three days in a coma and months learning to walk again as part of her recovery.
The van driver, Scott Henderson, was also badly injured but made a full recovery.
Mrs Knox appeared at Dingwall Sheriff Court and admitted dangerous driving. She was fined £500 and banned from driving for two years.
However she took the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service to an employment tribunal, claiming unfair dismissal and breach of contract.
Employment judges ruled in her favour and a hearing was organised to discuss damages.
However she settled the claim and is believed to have received a payout of tens of thousands of pounds.
Nominations for the Aird and Loch Ness close on September 7, with the by-election following on October 8.
Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats have announced their candidate as Dr Jean Davis.
Dr Davis recently retired from medical practice and now works part time at St Andrew’s Cathedral, volunteers at her local church, and has recently completed a degree in Humanities through the Open University.