Arran Paterson, 19, was driving an Audi A5 at around 90 miles per hour when the crash happened in thick fog in Macduff, Aberdeenshire, in September 2024.

The collision left the 18-year-old with life-changing injuries while two other teenage passengers suffered serious injuries.

Paterson, of Macduff, was sentenced at Aberdeen Sheriff Court after pleading guilty to charges of dangerous driving, being over the drink-drive limit and driving without insurance following a prosecution by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS).

He was also disqualified from driving for five years and four months.

Prosecutors told the court that the car was a courtesy vehicle being used by his parents which he was not insured to drive. On 8 September last year, he drove three youths home from a local social club in Banff town centre at around 2.30am.

On the way home, a woman, who had just finished working at a local business, heard a loud bang followed by a screeching noise and a further loud bang. She ran towards the noise and saw the Audi on its roof and recognised one of the occupants as her daughter who was screaming.

The court heard that Paterson had freed himself from the vehicle and appeared to have cuts over his face and hands. Emergency services arrived to treat the injured and noted that the 18-year-old male passenger had sustained traumatic leg injuries.

Hospital staff later deemed his injuries were deemed beyond reconstruction and both limbs were amputated below the knee. All parties were taken to hospital. The vehicle was extensively damaged and there was also damage to a nearby wall caused by the collision.

The other two passengers suffered serious spinal injuries and one has been unable to return to work since the crash. When analysed, the accused’s blood was found to contain 62 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood which exceeds the prescribed limited for driving, namely 50 milligrams.

Alison McKenzie, procurator fiscal for Grampian, Highland and Islands, said: “Arran Paterson’s conduct was reckless and reprehensible and had devastating consequences for at least one of the passengers in that car.

“That individual has been robbed of a promising football career and his right to a normal life has also been taken away from him. Paterson has now been prosecuted and held accountable for his actions, which should serve as a reminder that Scotland’s prosecutors will act to keep the public safe from dangerous drivers.

“We urge anyone who believes someone may be driving while unfit through alcohol or drugs to report them to the police to avoid tragic outcomes like this one.”