Boy racer puts 7 pals in hospital in 2 horror crashes ... but walks free

A BOY racer put seven of his friends in hospital by causing two horrific highspeed crashes in the space of six months.

Lewis Moffat was waiting to go on trial for the first crash when he caused the second, demolishing a wall and leaving two women screaming in agony at the roadside.

This week, Perth Sheriff Court was told Moffat, 23, had bragged that he was going to perform a handbrake turn seconds before his car spun off the road and struck the wall.

Moffat, of Auchterarder, Perthshire, was found guilty of driving carelessly between Perth and St Andrews, Fife, on January 20, 2019.

However, Sheriff William Wood declined to ban him as any disqualification would run alongside one he is already serving in respect of the previous case.

In that incident, on July 1, 2018, Moffat put four of his friends in hospital after smashing through a fence and rolling the car into a field at speed while ‘showing off ’.

At Perth Sheriff Court in March 2019, he changed his plea to guilty and admitted driving dangerously and at excessive speed on the Dunfallandy to Logierait road in Perthshire.

Sentencing him over that crash, Sheriff Gillian Wade banned Moffat for two years and ordered him to resit the extended driving test. She also ordered him to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

After Moffat was convicted over the second crash, Sheriff Wood told him he was fortunate the jury had cleared him of trying to influence witnesses.

Moffat – who claimed he swerved to avoid a hare – had been charged with trying to pervert the course of justice by telling the victims to back up his story.

Sheriff Wood said: ‘You are fortunate the jury didn’t reach a different conclusion because if they had, the maximum sentence would have been five years in custody.

‘Your interests are best served by learning the lessons

SOFT TOUCH JUSTICE

and not putting yourself in this situation again.

‘You are going to have to be really careful on the roads.’

The court was told that two women passengers had warned Moffat not to pull the handbrake as the Ford Fiesta approached a sharp bend.

Melissa Hunter and Megan Allan both broke down in the witness box as they described how they were left in severe pain as a result of their injuries. Another friend and the accused were also taken to hospital for checks.

Moffat had been facing a dangerous driving charge but the jury found him guilty of driving carelessly.

He was given nine penalty points on his driving licence, which means any future speeding offence will lead to disqualification.