A van driver who suffered a sneezing fit at the wheel caused a three-vehicle pile-up which left two women needing hospital treatment, a court was told. The collision also blocked a busy motorway at rush hour.
Alexander Harkness, 29, careered into the back of vehicles on the Edinburgh City Bypass at speed in his Peugeot van, the city's sheriff court was told. Harkness, who suffers from hay fever, told police he started sneezing moments before the crash, the Daily Record reported.
The gas engineer, who was in his company van, admitted driving without due care and consideration. He was fined £1,875.
Harkness was also given nine penalty points on his licence after his lawyer Ruairidh Mulheron told Sheriff Matthew Auchincloss he would lose his job if he were banned from the road.
Mr Mulheron told the court his client had been lucky that none of the people involved in the crash had suffered serious injuries. He added: “Mr Harkness knows he should have taken action or slowed down.”
Gillian Koren, prosecuting, told the court the accident happened at 4.45pm and traffic on the bypass had been slow-moving and heavy, but “free-flowing” sections allowed vehicles to reach 25mph to 30mph. Maxine Alexander was at the wheel of a Hyundai SUV with passenger Jacqueline Hardy beside her travelling westbound from Sheriffhall Roundabout.
Behind her was a Hyundai car driven by Jordan Brazendale, with Harkness behind that in his work van. Ms Koren said both Ms Alexander and Mr Brazendale became aware of slow-moving traffic ahead and slowed to 15mph.
But when Mr Brazendale looked in his rear-view mirror, he saw the van “driving towards him at high speed”. The court heard he did not have time to take evasive action, and there was no evidence of emergency braking by Harkness.
The van struck Mr Brazendale's car, forcing it to mount the central reservation and leave the carriageway, before colliding with Ms Alexander's SUV. Three ambulances and several police cars attended the crash scene and “traffic was brought to a halt”, Ms Koren added.
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The SUV occupants were taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary with Ms Alexander suffering bruising and a trapped nerve and her passenger muscular pain. Harkness was taken to the ERI for assessment while Mr Brazendale was uninjured.
All three vehicles suffered significant damage in the incident on June 4 last year, Ms Koren added. The court heard Harkness got out of his van to “check on everyone else about him” following the crash.
Mr Mulheron said Harkness would lose his job if he was disqualified from driving.
Sheriff Matthew Auchincloss imposed nine penalty points on Harkness’ licence and fined him £1,875.
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