A heartless individual who pretended to be a traffic lawyer on social media has been sentenced to prison for causing the death of an elderly woman in a tragic car accident. Leigh Sutherland was driving recklessly in an old Ford Mondeo with faulty brakes when he crashed into a Peugeot 108 driven by Margaret Allan on the Condorrat Ring Road in Lanarkshire, Scotland. The collision resulted in the death of the 77-year-old woman, who succumbed to her injuries after being rushed to the hospital.
Despite the severity of the situation, Sutherland callously attempted to shift blame to the victim at the scene, displaying a lack of remorse. Following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow, he was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving and subsequently sentenced to nine years in prison. Additionally, he received a driving ban exceeding 13 years. Prior to the accident, Sutherland had gained notoriety on TikTok for his peculiar videos posing as a defense lawyer, impersonating a police officer, and reviewing supermarket products.
Witnesses at the crash scene described the elderly driver as disoriented and injured, with a child also present in the vehicle. Sutherland, on the other hand, was seen walking away from the accident, claiming he needed time to compose himself. However, he was apprehended by law enforcement shortly after making derogatory remarks towards the officer and the victim. Further investigations revealed that the braking system of Sutherland’s 12-year-old Mondeo was malfunctioning, and the car’s battery was insecure.
Evidence suggested that Sutherland was exceeding the speed limit at the time of the collision, with witnesses attesting to his high rate of speed. Prosecutor Adrian Stalker emphasized that Sutherland’s driving was not merely a lapse in judgment but a deliberate act of recklessness, especially considering the defective condition of his vehicle. Despite residing in Newcastle at the time of the incident, Sutherland, originally from Cumbernauld, had been out on bail during the trial but was subsequently remanded in custody by Judge Tom Hughes for sentencing pending further reports.