Moray woman, originally from America, drunk wine before causing car crash

A woman drunk wine before causing a serious car crash which left a couple in another vehicle with life-changing injuries.

Rebecca Darden, from Balnageith, near Forres, previously admitted causing serious injury by dangerously driving into the path of another vehicle at the junction of the B9111 and the A96 near Auldearn on April 27, 2023.

She appeared before Sheriff Gary Aitken at Inverness Sheriff Court for sentencing and was told that the victims will suffer “life-long consequences”.

The 56-year-old, who is American and had been driving in this country for six months, was also hurt in the collision, which caused the other car to spin and her’s to rotate on the road.

Darden and Lorna Innes, who was the passenger in the other vehicle, suffered sternum fractures with Mrs Innes also sustaining a fractured wrist.

Her husband, James, required surgery to his wrist, and had two metal plates inserted in his arm. He also suffered a small fracture to his back. Fiscal depute Alison Young said the operation left him with a 12-inch scar.

Sheriff Aitken said: "This has had life-long consequences for the individuals in the other vehicle, leaving them with an inability to enjoy life the same.

“You should never have got behind the wheel of a car that day.

"There can be awful consequences and the ones here are bad enough but could have been much worse."

Sheriff Aitken also praised one of the victims, who thanked the police and medical staff in his impact statement for their quick actions at the crash.

He said: "It makes clear the debt that society owes to the emergency services."

Darden, who is applying for British citizenship, was disqualified from driving for a year and ordered to resit her driving test.

She was also ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work as an alternative to custody and placed under 18 months of social work supervision.