Court told morphine found in accused’s blood after fatal crash

Morphine found in the blood of a driver after a head-on crash in which a woman died could have been heroin, a court heard.

Alin Jar was behind the wheel of a Vauxhall Meriva involved in a head-on collision with a Renault Megane carrying 57-year-old Jamesina Stewart of Elgin and her family on the A90 near Ellon on March 5 2016.

Mrs Stewart died at the scene and her daughter Amanda Todd, 37, was seriously injured.

Jar, 31, of Clifton Road, Aberdeen, is alleged to have caused Mrs Stewart’s death by dangerous driving while under the influence of morphine, a charge he denies.

The High Court in Aberdeen heard from paramedics who tended to the Romanian national at the scene before rushing him to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

They said they had not administered morphine to Jar.

An A&E consultant at the hospital said a blood sample was taken from Jar within minutes of him arriving at hospital and before any pain medication was given.

Forensic scientist Steven Sole, 57, said a “high” reading of morphine – 0.27 milligrammes per litre of blood – was found in the sample that was taken.

He said the amount found could be consistent with either illicit heroin having been taken and breaking down within the body, or with the amount found “an hour or two” after the drug is used as a painkiller in surgery.

The court heard Jar told police he had taken “Romanian painkillers” called Algocalmin on the morning of the crash, and was given them by a work colleague.

The trial, before Lord Woolman, continues.

Accused: Alin Jar.