East Lothian driver who mowed down policeman is jailed and banned from road
A driver who mowed down a police officer in a shocking hit and run incident has been jailed for more than two years and banned from the road.
Andrew Yorkston drove his car at PC Dermott Maughan and knocked him to the ground before “panicking” and fleeing the scene in Haddington, East Lothian, last year.
Yorkston, 35, drove over the stricken officer’s arm and left tyres marks on his body and sped off leaving the injured constable sprawled on the roadway.
The driver - who was serving a road ban at the time - then sped through the streets of the town ignoring red light signals as he made his way to his home in nearby Prestonpans.
Officers eventually tracked him down at the address and had to ferry him to hospital due to his suspected “drug induced state”.
Yorkston was initially charged with attempted murder but pled guilty to a reduced charge of assault to the danger of life when he appeared from custody at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Tuesday,
He also admitted to charges of driving the vehicle dangerously on various roads in East Lothian and to driving while disqualified, all on May 6 last year.
Horror footage of the serious assault was recorded on a mobile phone by a shocked pedestrian and posted on social media following the incident.
Prosecutor India Carruthers told the court police officers had approached Yorkston after seeing him near to a vehicle at the High Street in Haddington at around 3.50pm on May 6 last year.
Ms Carruthers said: “The officers knew Mr Yorkston was a disqualified and walked towards him. On seeing the police Mr Yorkston and a female entered the vehicle and officers shouted at him to stop.
“PC Maughan walked into the roadway to try and stop the vehicle. The car drove at speed towards him and he raised both hands and shouted for him to stop.
“Mr Yorkston struck the officer with the vehicle making contact with his left side. The officer fell to the ground and one of the wheels ran over his left arm.”
The fiscal depute said Yorkston raced away from the scene and police officers traced him at his home in Prestonpans around 5.30pm where he was cautioned and arrested.
The court heard the PC Maughan escaped serious injury but was treated at hospital for “two linear marks over his upper back” and abrasions to his thigh, elbow and forearm.
Solicitor Cameron Tait, defending, said his client was a father of two and after marrying in 2017 his wife left him the following year after he relapsed back into using drugs.
Mr Tait said Yorkston‘s adult life has been “blighted by drug addiction” and he had “panicked” after the officers had approached him in Haddington last May.
Sheriff Graeme Watson said: “You knew you were disqualified from driving and you chose to drive anyway. Police officers properly executing their duties approached you and your response was to flee.
“You had no regard for the officers. You ignored their instructions to you, you ignored the presence of Mr Maughan and you drove towards him. You struck him, drove over his arm and continued to flee. It is remarkable he was not more physically injured.”
The sheriff jailed Yorkston for a total of 136 weeks backdated to his remand date last May. Yorkston was also handed a further five year disqualification from driving and told he must pass the extended test before being allowed back on the road.
Following the assault PC Maughan, a school link officer, issued a statement thanking the local community for their messages of support.