Driver smashes into telegraph poles, Wick court told

A high-speed driver left a road and struck two telegraph poles after losing control of his car.

Donald Wilkie’s vehicle was badly damaged but he luckily escaped serious injury.

The 34-year-old admitted charges of dangerous driving and resisting arrest and a record when he appeared from custody at Wick Sheriff Court on Monday. He will be sentenced next month.

The offences occurred on the Wick-Castletown road on Saturday night.

The court heard that Wilkie, of Murchison Street, Wick, had overtaken a car shortly before the accident. Its occupants thought that he was travelling at an excessive speed well in excess of the 60 mph limit. The accused was said to have reached speeds up to 90 mph.

David Barclay said that there was no problem about where Wilkie had decided to execute his overtaking manoeuvre – a long straight.

The fiscal continued: “The difficulty lay in the fact that there is a right-hand bend at the end of the straight where there are chevrons and various hazard signs. Wilkie failed to negotiate the bend and struck two telegraph poles, damaging them before coming to a halt. His vehicle suffered considerable damage and there was also damage to the verge.”

Wilkie tried to avoid being handcuffed by police officers tasked to the accident and lashed out with his legs.

Mr Barclay added that police made the point that Wilkie had “repeatedly come onto their radar” recently, resulting in court appearances and that “something appeared to be going wrong in his life”. They suggested that he might require help to address his pattern of offending.

Sheriff Andrew Berry agreed and called for a background report which he will consider on May 24, before passing sentence on the accused, who is banned from driving meantime.

Pleas of not guilty to charges of driving while unfit through drink or drugs, failing to stop and report the accident to the police and attempting to pervert the course of justice by running from the scene, were accepted by the fiscal.