Lorry driver's lapse of concentration on Ross-shire road 'could have had tragic consequences' after head-on collision with bus, court told
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A SPANISH lorry driver has been fined and banned for a year after crashing head on into a bus on a stretch of road in Ross-shire.
At Inverness Sheriff Court, Antonio Creo (65) admitted driving dangerously on the A835 between Ullapool and Maryburgh at Craigdarroch.
The court heard that the driver of the bus had been injured in the accident, which happened on May 17 this year.
Creo, from A Coruna, was fined £840 and banned from driving in the UK for a year.
The court heard that as he came round a left hand bend, he strayed about a foot or 18 inches over the solid white line and into the path of the oncoming bus.
Fiscal depute Shamilah Ghafar said: "The bus had nowhere to go, the driver braked hard, the wheels locked and there was a collision.The windows of the bus shattered and the bus skidded on to a grass verge.
"The emergency services were called and the driver was taken to hospital for treatment to facial injuries and bruising to his leg and body."
Defending, John MacColl said: "He is a father of two and when he returns to Spain, he will retire. He was on a journey from Lochinver to Spain, working for a seafood transport company.
"He has driven in the UK for 20 years and has no convictions either here or in Spain. This was a lapse of concentration for a few seconds by a man with a previous unblemished record."
Sheriff Ian Cruickshank told Creo, who had the services of a Spanish interpreter because he speaks no English: "This could have had tragic consequences."
