Driver suffers diabetic seizure and ploughs into elderly couple's car at 100mph in Edinburgh's Seafield Road

John Diver was heading home after officiating over two football matches when he lost consciousness and ploughed head on into a red Volvo driven by 86-year-old Mary Calder.

Witnesses said Diver, 35, was travelling at speeds up to 100mph when his Nissan Duke crossed over into the opposite carriageway and ploughed into the vehicle coming in the opposite direction.

Police, ambulance crews and the fire service raced to the scene where Mrs Calder and her husband Douglas, 85, had to be cut free from the wreckage in Edinburgh’s Seafield Road.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told Mrs Calder suffered multiple fractures to her wrist, ankle, knee and sternum and was forced to spend around three months in hospital. The pensioner also had to use braces to support her legs while walking during her recovery and has been left with permanent scarring.

John Diver was heading home after officiating over two football matches when he lost consciousness and ploughed head on into a red Volvo | Alexander Lawrie

Husband Douglas Calder was also seriously injured in the horror smash and suffered a puncture wound to his chest, six fractured ribs and a broken pelvis. He was in hospital for around 14 weeks recovering from his life-threatening injuries and the court was told a doctor was “concerned he may not survive” in the first few days following the crash.

Diver, from Leith, Edinburgh, was rushed to hospital for treatment to abdominal injuries and fractures to his hip and sternum and subsequently had to have part of his bowel removed. He was placed on a ventilator on his arrival and spent six weeks recovering in hospital.

Diver pleaded guilty to causing serious injury to the couple by driving dangerously at Seafield Road, Edinburgh, on October 24, 2021 when he appeared at the capital’s sheriff court last month. He returned to the dock for sentencing on Thursday where he was placed on a community payback order and will have to carry out 135 hours of unpaid work in the community.

Diver was also banned from the road for 27 months and told he must resit the extended driving test before he is allowed back behind the wheel.

Sheriff Christopher Dickson said: “This was a very serious incident where serious injury was caused to two occupants in the other car and to yourself.”

Previously the court was told the road’s speed limit is just 30mph and the traffic flow at the time of the accident was described as moderate. Prosector Xander van der Scheer said a number of witnesses saw Diver travelling at speeds between 70mph and 100mph.

The referee was seen to overtake vehicles and had “crossed fully into the opposite carriageway” when he collided with the car driven by Mrs Calder at around 4.10pm.

The fiscal depute said the witnesses did not see any brake lights coming on before a number of them rushed to the injured trio’s aid following the incident.

Defence solicitor Ronnie Simpson said his client was a type one diabetic and had been refereeing two football matches that day and had fallen into “a hypoglycaemic state” during his drive home. Mr Simpson said Diver was found “confused and disorientated and slumped over the steering wheel” when paramedics arrived and was “displaying all the symptoms” of hypoglycaemia.

The lawyer added Diver had “lost control and lost consciousness” while driving and he  “expresses deep remorse and apologises to Mr and Mrs Calder”.

He told the court Diver had “voluntarily surrendered his driving licence” following the crash.

Diver was the fourth official at the Scottish Amateur Cup Final played between Cupar Hearts and Steins Hill at Hampden Park in May 2023.