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Drunk driver left man brain damaged and needing arm amputated after crashing three times over the limit
Lee McQueen got behind the wheel while more than three times the alcohol limit
HORROR SMASH Drunk driver left man brain damaged and needing arm amputated after crashing three times over the limit
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A DRUNK driver who left a man with irreversible brain damage and needing his arm amputated has been caged for three years.
Lee McQueen, 44, got behind the wheel after a night out in Ayr and was more than three times the limit when his car struck a tree on the B742 in Annbank, Ayrshire, catastrophically injuring his passenger, Brian Wylie.
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McQueen hid his face when he appeared at Ayr Sheriff Court
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Brian Wylie was left with catastrophic injuries after being a passenger
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Lee McQueen was jailed for three years and banned from driving for 15 years
Credit: Michael Schofield
McQueen was left unconscious in the car while his passenger, Brian, took the brunt of the impact and suffered devastating internal injuries and brain damage, which he will never recover from.
McQueen, of Ayr, was sentenced to three years in jail and banned from driving for 15 years after pleading guilty to drink driving.
Brian's heartbroken mum, Mandy Wylie said the dad-of-one requires round-the-clock care and said, regardless of the sentence dished out to McQueen, their lives had been 'forever changed'.
She added: 'On that fateful day, Brian sustained life changing injuries as the result of someone else's recklessness and what has happened today will not change that.'
Ayr Sheriff Court previously heard the pair had been in Crumbs and Cocktails drinking before both left and got into McQueen's car, with him driving.
McQueen drove the car along the B742, losing control at a bend and careering into a tree, before rolling down an embankment.
A passerby witnessed the smash and got out to help.
When McQueen came to he tried to deny that he was driving.
Both men were taken to hospital with Brian eventually needing his left arm amputated after multiple operations on his shoulder.
McQueen had previously been told to expect a lengthy jail sentence and arrived at court with his face covered and carrying a backpack.
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Sentencing him to three years, Sheriff Scott Pattison said: 'The injuries and medical consequences for Mr Wylie, your passenger, were horrendous and lifelong.
'I have assessed your culpability as high and the harm you caused was obviously significant and extensive.
'You are remorseful and have yourself been impacted by these terrible events.
'I have determined that only a custodial sentence is appropriate given the serious nature of your offending.'
Brian's mum Mandy added: 'On November 26th 2023, our lives were changed forever when we were told that Brian had been a passenger in car crash.
'Today, the driver was convicted of dangerous driving and sentenced to three years in prison and banned from driving for 15 years.
'As much as this conviction shows that the legal process has taken place and a punishment has been handed down, no matter what the sentence was or how severe, will not make a difference to Brian's future.'
Sergeant Brian Simpson of Ayrshire Road Policing Unit said: 'McQueen was under the influence of alcohol that evening and the decision to drive his car resulted in his male passenger suffering horrendous, life changing injuries.
'Drivers are responsible for their own actions and the risks they take can have the most devastating consequences.
'Our thoughts remain with the victim and his family at this time.'
