An aristocrat has admitted causing a four-vehicle pile-up on the notorious A9 after falling asleep at the wheel of his £50,000 Porsche.
Sir Anthony Rupert Milburn, 74, woke as he crashed head-on into a lorry and the accident caused two other cars to collide behind him.
Milburn had been driving south to his Northumberland estate when he drifted off to sleep in the Porsche Macan.
The 5th Baronet, whose wife was in the car with him, started weaving back and forth across the A9 after enjoying a lunchtime stop at the House of Bruar shopping complex.
Lorry driver John Kidd was unable to avoid colliding with Milburn’s vehicle as it lurched across the carriageway directly into his path, Perth Sheriff Court heard.
Crashed in roadworks area
Fiscal depute Joanne Ritchie told the court the accident happened at Bankfoot, in a 40mph zone of roadworks, at 2pm on August 27 last year.
“Witnesses reported seeing his vehicle starting to swerve into the opposing carriageway and drift across the central line and then back onto the southbound side of the road.
“As the lorry approached, he suddenly swerved into the carriageway the lorry was in.
“The lorry driver sounded his horn and veered to the left to try and avoid the accused’s car.
“The accused failed to react and struck the vehicle.
“The driver immediately behind the accused’s vehicle had to brake heavily and this resulted in the car behind him striking his rear.
“All of the vehicles involved came to a stop on the road.
“Emergency services were contacted and he was in the back of an ambulance when the police arrived.
“He told them he had fallen asleep at the wheel and had woken up just as the collision occurred.
“The usual procedures were carried out and a breath test was negative.
“He was taken to hospital but it appears he was the only person who was injured as a result of the incident. All of the vehicles were damaged.”
Receipts to prove rest stops
Milburn, of Bog House, Matfen, Northumberland, had originally been charged with dangerous driving but admitted a reduced charge of careless driving when he appeared in the dock.
He admitted falling asleep while driving, losing control and veering onto the other side of the road and colliding with a lorry.
He admitted causing a third vehicle to collide with a fourth car, damaging all of them.
His solicitor told the court Milburn’s wife had driven the initial shift and the couple had taken breaks during their journey back to the north of England.
He said they had stopped at House of Bruar, near Blair Atholl and could provide the court with receipts to prove Milburn had taken rests along the way.
The court was told Milburn felt fine to drive and his tiredness must have come on suddenly in the moments before the horror crash.
Milburn, whose family wealth was earned through coal mining and shipping, was fined £750 and given a month to pay.
He had seven points imposed on his licence but escaped a ban.
Milburn’s family owned Guyzance Estate, near Alnwick but he put it on the market for £7 million in 2007 after his children left home.
