A man has been remanded in custody after admitting causing the death of a mother of four in a horrific head-on crash while driving under the influence of drugs.
Catastrophic Collision on Highland Road
Jamie Little, 41, veered into the wrong lane on the A9 in the Highlands and smashed his Toyota Hilux into a Mini Cooper driven by 59-year-old Margaret Sutherland. The catastrophic collision occurred on April 30, 2024.
Mrs Sutherland, a carer from Invergordon, suffered severe injuries and died at the scene. Police who attended the crash administered a roadside drug test to Little, which provided a positive reading for cocaine.
System Contained Five Times the Legal Limit
Little, from Alness in Ross-shire, was arrested and taken to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness for a blood test. The results were damning: he had 57mg of cocaine per litre of blood in his system, vastly exceeding the legal limit of 10mg.
Appearing at the High Court in Edinburgh, Little pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and to drug driving. Advocate depute Alex Prentice, KC, told the court that police believed the collision was entirely Little's fault for entering the northbound lane.
Previous Conviction and Deferred Sentencing
The court heard that Little, who worked as a service engineer visiting hydro sites, has a previous conviction for dangerous driving. His defence solicitor advocate, Shahid Latif, stated his client was "acutely aware" of the devastation caused to Mrs Sutherland's family.
Lord Summers deferred sentencing for the preparation of background reports. He rescinded Little's bail and remanded him in custody, telling him: "You are presently on bail, that bail is now rescinded."
