Drunken A90 driver jailed for horror crash

Teens left with serious injuries after man ploughed into stationary car

Teenage siblings were left with devastating injuries after a drink-driver ploughed into their stationary car.

They fell victim to the dangerous driving of 31-year-old Stuart Mackenzie, who was more than four times the legal limit. He failed to spot nine different warning signs before crashing into five vehicles as they waited in roadworks on the A90 between Dundee and Perth.

Mackenzie, of Airdrie, was jailed for two years at Perth Sheriff Court for the offence after the court heard one of his victims, now 17, may have a life-long brain injury.

It was his second conviction for driving while under the influence of alcohol.

A drink-driver who left two teenagers with devastating head injuries after causing a horrific five-vehicle crash on the A90 has been jailed for two years.

Stuart Mackenzie drove at speed into the back of his victims’ car, which had been stopped by roadworks, causing a horrific “domino-like collision”.

The 31-year-old had ignored nine different warning signs and failed to spot that a queue of traffic in front was held up by temporary lights.

He hit the rear of the teenagers’ Volkswagen car, punching them forward into the car in front.

In all, five vehicles were shunted into one another by the brutal force of the night-time collision.

The 19-year-old driver of the car and his young female passenger were both left trapped and had to be freed by emergency services.

The driver spent 10 days in the neurological ward at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, while the girl, then 16, suffered a fractured skull.

Further tests revealed a “high energy” injury to her brain, damage to her vertebrae and numerous other broken bones.

As Mackenzie appeared for sentencing in the dock at Perth Sheriff Court, it emerged the accident could have lifelong consequences for the girl and her surgeon thought she will suffer “long-term cognitive problems”.

Other motorists were said to have suffered whiplash.

A roadside breath test after the accident showed Mackenzie had 93 microgrammes of alcohol in his system, more than four times the 22 mic legal limit.

He had “drunk substantially” the day before and after a day’s work consumed two more pints.

Mackenzie’s solicitor, David Holmes, said his client had taken the fateful decision to drive because of concerns over childcare, but knew he should not have been behind the wheel.

The court was told staff at his former workplace – he is now unemployed as he comes to terms with medical “problems” – had been concerned by the smell of alcohol from him earlier in the day but he had been part of a group and they could not pinpoint him as the source.

Mr Holmes said his client had never shied away from his actions and was “filled with genuine regret” for the consequences.

Mackenzie, of Calder Glen Courts in Airdrie, admitted driving a van dangerously on the A90 between Invergowrie and Longforgan on February 20 last year while impaired by alcohol.

Sheriff Gillian Wade said there was “no alternative” to a prison sentence, highlighting the level of dangerous driving and seriousness of the injuries sustained by his victims”.

She was also highly critical of his “deliberate decision to take a significant amount of alcohol and then drive” and said his failures thereafter were indicative of his ability to drive.

Mackenzie was also banned from driving for five years.

Stuart Mackenzie was more than four times the legal limit when the crash happened.

Stuart Mackenzie, who had “drunk substantially” the day before the crash and had more alcohol on the day, was jailed for two years by Sheriff Gillian Wade.