Glasgow man sentenced at Inverness Sheriff Court after A9 crash with police vehicle near Newtonmore
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A man has been ordered to carry out unpaid work and been banned from driving for nearly two years for drink-driving.
Shafeer Rishad (25) was almost three times the legal drink-drive limit when he was flagged down by a police officer on the A9 between Dalwhinnie and Newtonmore on January 26.
He failed to stop and hit a police vehicle, causing the police car’s wheel to come off – which narrowly missed another officer.
Rishad, from Cumlodden Drive, Glasgow, previously admitted a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol and dangerous driving when he appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court last month.
He was found to have 78 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath in his system at the time. The legal limit is 22 micrograms.
The dangerous driving charge stated that he failed to slow for a police constable, causing them to take evasive action, before hitting the parked police vehicle causing one of the wheels to come off which “narrowly” missed another officer.
Neither officer was in the police vehicle at the time of the incident as they were assisting with the recovery of a vehicle from an unconnected incident.
Sheriff David Harvie deferred sentence on the first offender for background reports.
Disqualified from driving in the interim, today Rishad was ordered to carry out 200 hours of community service and banned from driving for 20 months.
Speaking after sentencing Inspector Donnie Mackinnon, of the Highland and Islands Road Policing Unit, said: “This incident highlights the dangers of drink-driving and how it adversely affects a driver’s decision making, awareness and cognitive ability. We are thankful that no-one was injured as a result.
“The consequences could have been far worse, not only for those directly involved but for their families and friends, so I appeal to road users to make safe and sensible decisions, one of which is never drive after consuming alcohol or drugs, because it can be life changing.”
