Moray crash drink driver made ‘a series of the worst decisions of his life’

A drink driver who crashed into a tree and severely injured his four passengers has been given a lengthy motoring ban.

Matthew Hogg lost control of his car on a country road between Lossiemouth and Elgin on February 12 last year.

His four passengers sustained various injuries, including a broken collarbone and a broken wrist. One suffered lung and abdomen damage which required surgery and left them with a scar.

The 21-year-old defendant’s lawyer, Matthew O'Neill, stated his client had been doing a favour for a friend but had drunk alcohol before picking up his passengers.

Mr O’Neil added: "These were a series of the worst decisions of his life, made without thought for any consequences - the largest positive being that they were not more severe."

Hogg of John Street, Aberdeen appeared for sentence at Inverness Sheriff Court, having already admitted driving drunk, dangerously and without insurance.

The court previously heard that, after offering to transport everyone round the Lossiemouth area, Hogg had sped at 60mph through built-up areas, gone through a red light and attempted to skid around corners.

When one of his teenage passengers asked to be let out of the car, he refused, stating: "I know what I am doing".

Nearby residents contacted the police after Hogg hit the tree.

However, when officers arrived, he tried to claim he’d only been a passenger in the car and that the driver had left the scene.

Hogg failed a subsequent breath test, providing a reading 31 when the legal limit is only 22.

However Sheriff Eilidh Macdonald stopped short of imposing a prison sentence after reading the social work report which indicated the defendant had "turned his life around" since the crash.

Hogg was instead banned from driving for three years. He was also ordered to carry out 210 hours of unpaid community work.