US motorist caused crash with bus and lorry by turning onto wrong side of A9 by Carrbridge
An American tourist pulled out of a notorious A9 junction onto the wrong side of the road and into the path of an oncoming lorry which collided with the hired car and sent it crashing into a bus. The collision seriously injured 33 year old Nirmal Neuprane's wife but luckily he and his two children escaped injury despite extensive damage to his white Hyundai on July 26, last year. Neuprane, whose address was given as c/o Levy McRae solicitors in Edinburgh, was not present at Inverness Sheriff Court but his lawyer, Paul Anderson tendered a guilty plea to causing serious injury by careless driving at the Blackmount junction by Carrbridge.
He said: "This is a case of a tourist driving a hired car and turning on to the A9 on the wrong side. "He is extremely fortunate the consequences were not more serious." Sheriff Eilidh Macdonald fined Neuprane ?2,000 and banned him from driving in the UK for the next 16 months.
Fiscal depute Pauline Gair told the court that the collision force was such that it spun his car 180 degrees and into the front of a bus waiting to enter the A9 from the junction.
She added that Neuprance's spouse suffered what was initially thought to be life-threatening injuries and she was flown to hospital in Aberdeen.
She sustained a laceration to her kidney and several fractures.
The road was closed for seven hours between Granish junction by Aviemore and Tomatin in the wake of the crash.
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[1]References
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