Dangerous driver '˜wipes out' cars in horror A801 smash

A dangerous driver wiped out two other cars in a multi-vehicle crash, a court heard.
Livingston Sheriff Court. Picture: TSPLLivingston Sheriff Court. Picture: TSPL
Livingston Sheriff Court. Picture: TSPL

Scott Hamilton, from Bathgate, suddenly pulled out into the path of oncoming traffic on the A801 in West Lothian and collided head on with an Audi A3.

Both vehicles spun wildly out of control sending a shower of debris into the air.

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The driver of a Ford Focus, who took evasive action to get out of the way of Hamilton’s vehicle, also spun out of control and rolled several times down an embankment.

The initial impact was so severe that it ripped the engine and gearbox from Hamilton’s VW Scirocco and sent it “tumbling down the carriageway”.

Alistair Macleod, prosecuting, told Livingston Sheriff Court that although the Scirocco suffered “catastrophic damage”, Hamilton walked from the wreckage with hardly a scratch.

HGV driver Hamilton, 46, pleaded guilty on Thursday to driving dangerously on July 31, 2016. He was ordered to carry out 225 hours of unpaid work under a community payback order as a direct alternative to a prison sentence.