A brave couple have shared footage of a terrifying car crash that left them scarred for life.
James Innes and his wife Lorna, from Inverness, suffered multiple broken bones and fractures in the collision on the A96 near Auldearn on April 29 last year.
The incident happened after a dangerous driver pulled out of the B9111 junction in front of their car, causing it to spin across the major road and smash into a barrier
James, 66, recounted seeing a bone “sticking out his arm” following the smash while Lorna, 67, had to be cut out of their Hyundai Kona by emergency crews.
James’ dash cam footage, shared with the Record, shows the pair heading along the road as normal with a car in the distance at the junction.
The vehicle – a Mercedes A class – pulls out from the junction into their path causing both cars to crash and spin across the road.
James and Lorna’s Hyundai can be seen hitting the barrier on the opposite edge of the carriageway with the Mercedes further ahead over the road facing sideways.
The pair can be heard in the footage screaming in agony as Lorna shouts: “Idiot, idiot, idiot.”
James told the Record: “Once the car had stopped I just remember looking down at my right arm.
“The bone was sticking right out, and I just thought ‘that shouldn’t be there’. I wasn’t in any pain, I was just in total shock.
“I can’t even remember how fire crews got me out the car. They had to cut Lorna out whilst I was in the ambulance getting treatment.”
The couple were rushed to Raigmore Hospital where medics had to place two metal plates in James’ arm.
Further surgery was carried out on his wrist and he also suffered a small fracture in his back.
Lorna was kept in hospital for almost two weeks after suffering a fractured wrist and breastbone.
“We’re both scarred for life,” James added.
“We’re both still in pain everyday. My wife has given up driving because of it. Whenever we go anywhere she sits in the back seat now.
“I’ve got a 12-inch scar from the surgery I had done. I used to arm-wrestle with my grandson, but I can’t do that now.”
The driver of the Mercedes, American national Rebecca Darden, was banned from driving for a year and ordered to resit her driving test at a hearing at Inverness Sheriff Court, on Tuesday, October 29.
The 56-year-old was also given 150 hours of unpaid work as an alternative to custody and placed under 18 months of social work supervision.
But James believes she should be banned from ever driving again.
He added: “I don’t think she should be allowed back on the roads.
“What she did was dangerous and we’re lucky to be alive.
“We’ll have to live with our pain, but she’ll be allowed to move on and be back behind the wheel again after just one year.”
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